The Impossible Drums
by sherlockedbyben
Summary: The Doctor and Clara find Gallifrey and save The Master from execution. Trouble follows as they are forced to face the wrath of the Time Lords. Could Clara fall in love with the Time Lord's most infamous child and be the impossible girl to save the Master from the drums? And is The Master really capable of loving someone? Master/Clara
1. Chapter 1

**Finally decided to write a fanfic for this pairing because I just couldn't hold in my feelings for these two! Here's the first chapter, hope you like it and hope I make you ship it too;)**

**This is dedicated to my shipping buddies Allonsy_Elize and iHiddles love you love time guyss aaaaay**

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Wednesday. It was a Wednesday and Clara Oswald was waiting. For most people, Wednesdays were dull, that sluggish mid-week point that everyone wished they could avoid. To Clara, they were everything. But then, Clara wasn't like most people. Most people didn't spend their Wednesdays with a madman sporting a big chin and a bowtie in a blue box. That eccentric man that meant so much to her, it brought a smile to her face to think about him. He had granted her her biggest wish, to see the stars. His friendship meant the world to her. For him, she waited. She would always wait. She took another swift glance at the clock, wondering vaguely where her Doctor was, or if he'd even come at all. She'd already baked two soufflés- Well, attempted to bake them, while she waited. She reached out to close the window she had left ajar to let out the aroma of burnt cooking. She stopped as something blue and box-like caught her eye outside and leapt up from her perch on the windowsill at the familiar noise of the Tardis materialising outside, a sudden thrill coursing through her. Rushing down the flights of stairs from her apartment she hurried out to where the blue phone box was waiting as it always was every Wednesday. He was never late. Well, almost never. Actually, she thought to herself with an inward laugh, he was totally and utterly unreliable, but that was one of the best things about travelling with him. You never knew what to expect. She couldn't keep the smile off her face as she threw open the Tardis doors and hopped into the ship. She had a good feeling about today.

"Happy Wednesday, Doc," She called out enthusiastically, skipping over to her best friend and hugging him.

"Clara!" He exclaimed, hugging her back and releasing her quickly to bounce around the Tardis console, sonic screwdriver in hand. "You don't know how pleased I am to see you! Almost didn't get here on time you know, chased by a stray Vinvocci, nasty little thing, how was I supposed to know those plants were sacred on their planet.." The eccentric alien trailed off, distracted by the various buttons and levers in front of him. She shook her head lightly in amusement.

"Honestly, Doctor, sometimes you're just as bad as the kids I teach."

"You wipe that smirk off your face right now, Oswald! We're going on an adventure that will knock your fez off!"

She rolled her eyes, knowing their adventure would more than likely end up with the her and the Doctor running for their lives. At least she was never bored. She watched the Doctor bounce energetically around the control room. She'd always been fascinated about how he managed to fly the ship. All the controls and buttons and levers made absolutely no sense to her. She'd always wanted to have a go but considering how the Tardis seemed to hate her, she figured that wouldn't end very well. Or start very well for that matter. She clutched part of the Tardis wall for support as they began to move. She was used to the rocky journeys by now. She was just about to ask the Doctor where they were going when a loud screeching noise emmitting from the Tardis startled her. She automatically let go of the wall and covered her ears, stumbling over to where the Doctor was frantically covering one ear with one hand and waving his sonic screwdriver around at the console with the other.

"Doctor, what's going on!" She yelled, struggling to be heard above the grating noise. She hated it, it reminded her of nails scraping down a chalk board although at the same time it was so different to that. She shuddered, willing it to stop. Surprisingly it did. She let her arms fall to her sides with a relieved gasp.

"What the bloody hell _was_ that!"

The Doctor wasn't listening to her. He was muttering to himsellf and checking and rechecking the Tardis scanners.

"We're picking up a signal!" He yelled, working the controls of the ship faster than she'd ever witnessed before. "A distress signal, I think! I don't know, it's-"

He was cut off as the Tardis lurched and he stumbled backwards, catching himself just before he fell. Clara wasn't so lucky. She wasn't expecting the sudden bumping and lurching they were currently experiencing and went flying across the room and onto the floor. _Dammit,_ she thought with an exasperated sigh. Were they crashing? Surely not. But she couldn't think of anything else it could be. Rides in the Tardis were never exactly smooth but they were never this bad. This was, in her slightly exaggerated opinion, possibly life threatening. She decided to stay on the floor, it was safer for everyone that way.

"Alright, Clara?" The Doctor called from somewhere above her. She let out an aggitated grunt in reply. She heard the Doctor's voice continuing talking from somewhere out of her line of sight. "Hang on, I'm trying to trace it, I think it's..."

He fell silent. Clara felt fear shoot through her. There was a loud, powerful booming sound coming from.. From the Tardis? No it wasn't from the Tardis. She couldn't place it. She could just hear it. A loud booming sound, once, twice.. Four times and then a pause. It repeated and repeated, one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four.. She dragged herself up off the ground and clutched onto the console for dear life, eyes roaming around the room until she found the Doctor. The colour had drained from his face. He was grasping the side of the console with such force his knuckles had gone white. She couldn't identitfy the expression on his face. Was it.. Fear? Confusion? Seeing him like this filled her with dread. She trusted the Doctor with her life, but when he was frightened of something, she knew that something was very wrong.

"Doctor, what's going on? What's that noise?"

She almost thought he wasn't going to respond. To her it seemed to take an age for him to slowly lift his head to look at her and form the words, "It's.. It's a distress signal. And I think.." He paused, a series of emotions flitting across his face, fear, confusion, wonder, excitment, _hope_, "I think it's coming from Gallifrey."

_**Gallifrey.**_

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_"We could find it, Clara!"_

_Clara watched as the Doctor began to pilot the Tardis with a newfound energy, her mind reeling at the Doctor's words._

_"We could find Gallifrey!" He looked up at her with an expression of joy and hope. "It's still out there, Clara, it wasn't destroyed. I think that's what I'm supposed to do now.. I'm supposed to find Gallifrey!"_

_Clara wasn't sure how to feel about this but she smiled. "Let's get you home then, Doc."_

_The Doctor beamed at her. There it shone bright in his eyes.. __**Hope.**_

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Clara snapped out of her reverie, shaking away the memory that she had almost forgotten about and looked at the Doctor. She could see the hope in his eyes that she had seen that day. The hope she had seen become diminished ever so slowly as time went on and they began to wonder if finding the Doctor's home planet was a hopeless task. He had been so determined to find his home planet ever since he spoke to the previous incarnation of himself who told him that there was a chance he could still recover it. Clara had put her all into helping him, giving her friend the support he needed. She knew how much this meant to him, she also knew that if she was in his place she would want a friend to help her too. The task was hopeless but Clara was not one to be deterred by a seemingly impossible situation and neither was the Doctor. But after a while, it had seemed like her Doctor had started to give up. Her best friend, the strongest man she knew, with his kind eyes and odd dress sense, always optimistic, always the one to tell her to, _"Look on the bright side, Clara! The glass is half empty, I mean full, that's what you humans say isn't_ _it?" _She had watched the hope in his eyes turn to hopelessness, and it hurt her to see that he was beginning to think he'd never find his home again, the place where his childhood resided. In turn, Clara's hope also began to diminish bit by bit. She had begun to think that Gallifrey really was lost.

She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again, not knowing what to say. Could this signal really be coming from Gallifrey? It was supposed to be trapped inside a time-lock, how was that even possible?

The Tardis lurched again and she let out a yell as she struggled to stay upright.

"Hold on, Clara!" The Doctor shouted above the roaring of the drumming noise which seemed to be getting louder and closer. "The signal is pulling us towards it source! Nearly there!"

Clara didn't know how much more of this she could take. She wasn't sure how much the Tardis could take either. The whooshing of the machine was becoming strained and sparks were emmitting from it. A huge crash sent Clara tumbling to the floor again and the booming sound stopped. Clara picked herself up from the ground quickly and attempted to get her breathing back to normal. They had landed.

The Doctor walked slowly towards the Tardis doors. He was breathing heavily, a look of wonder and hope on his face. Clara watched him in agonising anticipation as he slowly reached a quivering hand towards the door. He paused.

"Could it really be?" He murmured, more to himself than to her as he grasped the door firmly in his hand and pulled it open.


	2. Chapter 2

**Aaaaaaay it's chapter two! Enjoying writing this! This ship gives me unimaginable feels oh my.. :o I don't own Doctor Who or any of the characters from Doctor Who, if I did I'd sure as heck have these two together! Read and review, hope you guys like it!**

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What Clara saw when she took her first step outside those wooden doors was nothing like she had ever experienced before. Soft, deep red grass felt light under her feet, making her feel as if she was walking on air. The burnt orange sky blazed above her, two silver moons shining down on her. Night was falling. Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed around in wonder. She turned around in a full circle slowly, taking in the breathtaking landscape. Pastures of red grass, almost but not quite matching the colour of the sky, brown and burgundy coloured rocks littering the ground in beautifully natural formations, and the mountains, the mountains were snow-topped and agonisingly perfect. Everything about this planet just seemed right, seemed natural and perfect. For once she was speechless. She let out a gasp as she caught sight of the immense structure in front of her. It was a building, or was it multiple buildings? Clara wasn't sure but all she knew was it was the most beautiful piece of arcitecture she had ever seen. It looked almost like something out of a fairytale, but so very different at the same time.

She took a hesitant step forward towards the castle-like building, feeling the sudden urge to go inside. They were so close to it, it felt magical to her. Was this really where the Doctor grew up? She felt breathless. It must have been amazing. Oh God, _The Doctor._ She suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and remembered her friend. She glanced over at him.

The Doctor was kneeling on the ground, brow furrowed in thought, a look of wonder on his face. His hand reached out to caress the magnificent red grass that seemed to cover the majority of the ground as far as she could see. The only other plant life she could see was the bright, silver leafed trees that dotted the landscape. She wanted to pick a leaf off one in awe but refrained from doing so. She didn't want to do anything to disrupt the natural beauty. She didn't want to change anything about this place, no matter how small. She walked over and knelt down next to the Doctor, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I can't believe it," The Doctor murmured thoughtfully. "After all this time, I've found it. My _home._" His voice cracked on the last word and when he looked up Clara could see the unshed tears shining in his eyes. They were tears of joy and some other deep emotion she couldn't comprehend. He looked down at the coloured grass again as he stood up. "Oh, I have missed this."

"This is the most beautiful planet you've ever taken me to, Doctor," She breathed. "I.. I'm speechless."

The Doctor gave a guffaw. "The impossible has happened, ladies and gentlemen. For once, Clara Oswald is speechless! I never thought I'd live to see this magnificent day!"

"Oi!" Clara gave him a playful push. "Watch it, Chinboy."

"Didn't last long," The Doctor gave a mocking sigh. He turned his head up to gaze at the sky. The orange clouds looked like rolling mountains. "Beautiful," The Doctor turned to look at Clara with a soft smile. He raised a hand to point to the pastures of deep red grass on the horizon. "I used to run across those fields all day," He murmured thoughtfully. "I remember it so well... My childhood."

Clara smiled and walked a few steps ahead of him, spinning around to look at him with a grin.

"Come on, Doctor, don't forget why we ended up on this planet. Something was calling us here, right?" Her grin widened. "I say we find it, and I say it's in there."

She gestured up at the tall, royal-looking building just ahead of them and took off at a sprint, soon hearing the Doctor's hurried footsteps close behind her as he jogged to keep up. She grinned to herself at being one step ahead.

She realised they seemed to be inside a large dome covering the building and a certain amount of land around it. She slowed down as they neared the building, the Doctor coming to a stop at her side. She let out a squeak as she was suddenly dragged behind a pillar. She looked up to see the Doctor, a slow grin making it's way mischievously across his face.

"It's best not to use the main door, Clara, we're really not supposed to be here. But don't worry, I know this place like I know my Tardis, there's plenty more ways to get in," He winked and dragged her along around the back of the building until they reached a narrow door which blended in so well with the red-grey stone used to make the castle she would nearly have missed it if he hadn't dragged her to a halt. A quick zap of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver and the door unlocked obligingly. They slipped inside unnoticed and Clara shuddered at the sudden drop in temperature as they entered a cool narrow tunnel. Their footsteps echoed as the hurried down the passage at a quick pace.

"Now, if my calculations are correct, we should end up right in.." The Doctor burst through another small door that had materialised out of the looming dark in front of them and dragged Clara with him into a huge circular room, filled with people. No, not people. _Time Lord's._ The Doctor stopped dead in his tracks. Being found out like this clearly wasn't part of his plan, Clara thought with sickening realisation. "Ah. The Lord President's, er.. High Counsel room."

Clara gaped at the view in front of her, suddenly feeling very self concious as the only human in the room. There seemed to be some sort of ceremony going on, otherwise why would so many important looking Gallifreyans be assembled together in this room right now? The Doctor and herself had obviously walked into something they shouldn't have. As always. Looking around, she felt very small. The room was immense, finely decorated with a white, red and gold theme and everyone was dressed in regal robes of deep reds, golds and purples, sporting royal-looking helmets. All except one man.

He caught her attention straight away. He was in the centre of the room, surrounded by guards and in front of who Clara assumed must be the Lord President of Gallifrey. The intriguing man was the only person present except from herself and the Doctor who was not wearing the typical Time Lord attire. Instead, the man wore a casual black hoodie and tracksuit pants. She would have almost mistaken him for a human, if she didn't know better. He was handsome, and his youthful face held in it eyes that seemed to have seen so much, ancient eyes, filled with pain and anger. His hair was light blond, almost white and he looked painfully tired. A collar was fastened around his neck and his wrists were encased in painful looking shackles. Everything about this man screamed danger. But as his eyes met Clara's, she found that for some reason she couldn't explain, she couldn't look away.

An aggitated mumbling had arisen from the aliens gathered in the room as the Doctor and Clara had walked in with shouts of protest as to who they were and why they were here. This was something Clara wouldn't mind knowing herself. Why _were_ they here?

"Enough!" The noise in the room quietened down almost immediately at the booming voice.

The Time Lord she had identified as the Lord President directed his attention away from the blond man in front of him and turned to face the Doctor. Several guards stepped forward as if to seize the intruders but the Time Lord held up a hand to stop them. He took another step forward and looked at the Doctor, his expression of shock and suspicion turning to one of wonder and amazement.

"By Rassilon... Is it really you?" He breathed. The Doctor nodded in response and offered a wry smile.

"You've changed, Doctor. Another regeneration, I see. Although it seems your insufferable habit of landing yourself in situations where you shouldn't be has not deteriorated in this new form."

A humourless chuckle escaped the Doctor's lips. Clara could feel the tension in the room, even though they were talking as if they knew each other well. It put her on edge.

"Old habits die hard, I suppose."

"Or maybe he just came to see me," The blond man spoke up in sarcastic amusement from the centre of the room, drawing Clara's attention to him once again. "Great to see you again, old_ friend._ Come to watch me die have you, _Doctor?"_ He spat out the last word, his tone changing from amused to menacing. Clara's heart hammered in her chest. Die? What did he mean die? The man gave an unnerving sinister smirk. "Because it was just so _fun_ the first time!"

"Who is he, Doctor?" Clara whispered, curious to find out more about the man and concerned that his life seemed to be in danger. Now that she thought about it, he didn't seem to be in a very good situation.

"A dangerous friend." The Doctor muttered back. "My best enemy."

This only left Clara more confused. She forced herself to refrain from talking as the Doctor began to speak again.

"So, it seems you're not exactly on friendly terms with The Master right now, Lord President?" The Doctor asked, keeping his tone light. "Thought you'd almost given up on trying to control him. What's he in for this time?"

"The Master," The President began, gesturing towards the blond Time Lord, "Is the most corrupt being this Time Lord race has ever produced," The Master gave a loud yawn, not caring in the slightest what was being said about him. His eyes met Clara's again and he raised his eyebrows at her in amusement, showing his disregard for the important Time Lords. She felt the corners of her mouth turn up in a small amused smile. He really didn't care about any of this. "His crimes are without number and he has proved himself a threat to many civilisations. Not only that but he has also proved himself to be an enemy of the Time Lord's in trying to destroy us and our plans for a new Gallifrey in the place of planet Earth," The Lord President paused. "It looks like you've come just in time to see the verdict Doctor. I propose to have the Master executed."

"Executed?!" Clara yelped, the words out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She felt herself go red as all eyes turned to her. The sickening realisation hit her that this wasn't just any ceremony. This was a _trial_.

"Who is this girl you have brought with you, Doctor? Is she human?" The Lord President demanded. "You are not authorised to bring her in here."

"The Doctor's too fond of earth," The Master smirked, glaring at the Doctor. He grinned. "Sap."

Clara felt bemused. Who was this man, who had just been sentenced to death and was still cracking jokes as if he didn't have a care in the world? He didn't seem surprised that he had been ordered to be executed. He didn't seem particularly concerned about it either. The Doctor had stopped smiling.

"Executed?" He looked concerned. He took a step forward. "You do realise your plan to bring back Gallifrey in the place of Earth was wrong! It would never have worked out! The Master was right to stop you. I tried to stop you! You're not executing me though, are you? Ok, I know he's committed a lot crimes but.. Execution? No, no, no, you can't do that!"

"I think you'll find we can, Doctor. The Master is-"

"If you're going to do it, just do it!" The Master yelled suddenly, glaring at the Lord President with hatred. "It's not that I don't _love_ hearing you talk about me and my _terrible_ deeds over and over and over, it's just... I don't love it." His glare turned menacing and the phrase "If looks could kill," sprung to Clara's mind. She was glad that look wasn't directed at her. "So kill me then, go on!"

The Master's expression was now almost manic. He looked tired, tired of everything. Clara felt the need to comfort him, to help him. She was _not _ going to let him die.

"Hey, wait!" She spoke up, ignoring the Doctor nagging at her to keep quiet. She wouldn't stand for this. It was unfair, they weren't even giving him a chance! She wasn't intimidated by the regal Time Lord's, she knew she was doing the right thing by sticking up for this man. She struggled to keep her voice strong. "Dont- Don't execute him! Why can't you just give him another chance?"

"Clara," The Doctor hissed, "Leave the talking to me."

Clara felt angry. Fat lot of good the Doctor was doing! _Leave the talking to me._ What talking had he been doing so far to help The Master? Nothing! No one was listening to him! She felt her temper flare up in annoyance. The Lord President fixed his glare on her.

"You are a human girl, you cannot even begin to understand the crimes this man has committed, he is a danger to all-"

"Blah blah blaaaah," The Master rolled his eyes in annoyance, earning him a kick from one of the guards. This was barbaric. She couldn't stand by and let this happen. No matter what crimes this man had committed, she didn't care. She just felt an overwhelming need to help him. These aliens wouldn't listen to her!

"Doctor, do something!" She hissed.

The Doctor strode forward giving the Lord President a pleading look. "Let him come with me. He could travel with us in the Tardis. He'd be safe there, he wouldn't be a threat to anyone, I'd keep him out of trouble I swear!"

"Imprisoned with you in your broken blue phone box for the rest of my existence?" The Master choked out, eyes widening in horror. He let out a bark of a laugh. "I thought we'd been through this before, Doctor. I'd rather die. Execute me please!"

"No," Clara cried out as the guards shoved him roughly to the floor. She ran over but was held back by one of the Time Lord's.

"You sent it didn't you?" The Doctor turned to The Master, talking quickly. The Master looked bemused. "Maybe you didn't even know you were sending it. But I knew it was you, as soon as I heard the four beats." The Master's eyes widened slightly in shock. The Doctor continued, talking rapidly. "The drum beat inside your head, used as a signal to bring Gallifrey back. But this time it brought the Tardis to Gallifrey. It shouldn't be possible for us to be here, but that link inside your head made it possible. You beat Rassilon at his own game."

"Enough, Doctor! The Master will be destroyed!" The Lord President interjected.

Clara let out a muffled cry. _Come on, Doctor,_ she willed him silently. Whatever you're talking about, whatever this stupid plan of yours is, make it work fast.

"But you were a bit off," The Doctor continued. "We landed just outside. But I bet if you put your mind to it.. Sorry about this but you have to trust me for once," The Doctor grimaced and pulled out his sonic srewdriver, aiming it at The Master who's eyes widened in shock. He let out a cry of pain.

"What the bloody hell are you doing," He yelled, his hands clutching his head.

Clara didn't like this plan. She struggled to get out of the guards grasp. "Doctor, stop!" She yelled. Whatever he was doing was causing the Master discomfort, even pain. Her heart leapt when she heard the whooshing sound of the Tardis materialising right beside them. The Doctor ripped his sonic screwdriver away from The Master who's body went limp on the ground from exhaustion. The Doctor grabbed Clara's hand and raced towards the Tardis, dragging her with him. He flung open the door and pushed her inside. She stumbled in and turned around breathlessly to see the Doctor grabbing The Master away from the guards and shoving him inside the Tardis aswell.

"Sorry," He yelled to the outraged Time Lords rushing towards him. He grinned and slipped inside the Tardis. "Must dash."

He shut the doors behind them and raced to the Tardis console, flying them away from Gallifrey. Clara rushed to The Master's side. He was lying on the floor, barely concious, almost unable to move because of the shackles on his wrists and the uncomfortable looking collar fastened around his neck and the sheer exhaustion. She crouched down beside him. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"What.. What the _hell_ just happened?" He muttered, struggling to sit up and failing, rolling over onto his back with a small _umph_ sound.

"We just saved your life," The Doctor said cheerfully.

The Master rolled his eyes and turned his head to look at Clara. She felt her heart start beating unnaturally fast for some reason. She told herself it was just the shock of the recent events. She took deep breaths to calm herself and not get lost in the Master's deep brown eyes.

"What's your name?" The Master asked quietly, his breathing laboured, looking exhausted. Whatever the Doctor had done to him had definitely not done him any good.

"Oswald," She breathed with a smile, "Clara Oswald."

"Clara.." He murmured, looking up at her with those beautiful eyes. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes with a groan. "Tell the Doctor I hate him, yeah?" His head drooped to the side and the Master fell unconcious.

**Phew! That was a longer chapter than the last one. Hope you guys liked it, especially you guys Allonsy_Elize and ihiddles :D Read and Review to let me know what you think :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter three guys :D Wow I ship these two so much it hurts asdfghjkl :o Enjoy, read and review;)**

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Clara looked down at The Master's motionless form, not moving from his side. Before she even realised what she was doing, she reached a tentative hand out to touch his face, feeling a warm feeling spread through her as she trailed her fingertips down his cheek. What was it about this man, this criminal that drew her to him so much? She was fascinated by him. She didn't understand what it was she was feeling, she had never been in love before, she had never really been in a proper relationship with any boys. She liked to be independent, she didn't require a man in her life. She preferred the company of a good book, or sitting outside at night to watch the stars. Never had she thought that one day she would be up there in a blue box amoungst them.

Wait, had she just compared these feelings she was having right now to love? _No, no no,_ _Clara_, she scolded herself mentally. You are _not_ supposed to be having these thoughts. This man is dangerous and you don't know anything about him. He was good looking so she was initially attracted to him maybe, but love? After only just meeting him? That was insane. She was just intrigued by him, she decided, that was all. He was an interesting character. It had been a rough day, that's why she was having all these confusing thoughts and emotions. She had a caring heart, she was told this by most who knew her, especially her Gran. She just wanted this man to be okay, she had been worried about his safety. That was all. Despite this, she found it hard to tear her eyes away from his face. He looked so peaceful without pain marring his features. She was glad he was finally getting some well needed rest. Her eyes roamed to the collar around his neck and the handcuffs on his wrists.

"We should take these off," She spoke up, her hand trailing over one of The Master's wrists. "Doctor, give me your sonic screwdriver."

"What?" The Doctor had only been half listening, concentrating on fixing some part of the Tardis, the ship being damaged after the beating it had got as they landed on Gallifrey. Clara turned to see his head pop up from under the grating on the floor of the ship, his screwdriver and a bunch of wires in his hands. "No.. No I think it's best to leave those where they are for now." He disappeared under the ground again.

"What?" Clara frowned and walked over to the edge of the metal grates, peering down at the Time Lord underneath and the sparks emmitting from the machine beside him. "We can't just leave them on him like he's some sort of prisoner."

"Well that's what he is, until he learns to co-operate."

"Doctor, the man is unconcious!" Clara exclaimed. "I know you say he's dangerous but come on.."

The Doctor sighed and looked up at her again. "Clara, you and I both know that the Master does not want to be here. Those handcuffs and collar are of Time Lord origin, the only way they can be taken off is by using this." He waggled his screwdriver in front of her face. "Now I know the Master better than anyone, he will try to escape or do something worse, and that would be bad news for everyone. He's safe here, for now, and so are we. Until he accepts that, the cuffs stay."

Clara's brain struggled to process the information. This wasn't fair. She had been shocked when the Master said that he would rather die than be imprisoned in the Tardis and she somehow knew he was being serious. But surely treating him like a prisoner would only make this harder? She sighed. She'd worry about that later, when the rogue Time Lord woke up.

"So how long's this guy gunna be in hibernation for?" She asked, casting her gaze to The Master's unconcious form once again.

She heard a bump and an "Ow!" from below her and chuckled as the Doctor came into sight again, rubbing his head and fixing his bowtie. "Oh, er.. I'm not sure, that depends.. Could be hours, could be days, you know, that kind of thing."

Clara was startled. Could be days? She hoped it was only hours. The sooner he woke up the sooner she'd get to talk to him. Maybe if she could get him to trust her, he wouldn't mind staying here as much. It might make her time here more interesting too.

"So what's the deal with you guys? You say he's your friend _and_ your emeny?"

The Doctor moved to sit beside her. "We were childhood friends, but after a while we started to go separate ways..." The Doctor trailed off in thought. "He's dangerous Clara, more dangerous than you can imagine. We've been enemy's for a long time, although the last time we met, he saved my life. That's why I brought him here, saved him from execution. I know there's still a good part of him in there, part of my best friend..." The Doctor sighed. "We'll have to be very careful though. Like I said, he's dangerous, almost insane."

The Doctor went silent for a minute and Clara was left to her own thoughts. She broke the silence by bringing up something that had been on her mind for a while.

"What did you do to him, back on Gallifrey, with your sonic scerwdriver? He was in pain, Doctor!" She glared at him.

"I know, I know, I wish I didn't have to do that," The Doctor figitated guiltily. "But inside his mind, there's this noise.. At first I didn't believe it was real, thought it was part of his own insanity. But it is real, it was a link, a kind of signal the Time Lord's used to attempt to bring Gallifrey back. But we stopped them. The collar amplifies it, I had to amplify the sound to bring the Tardis to us. It strengthened the signal. It's amazing, the power of that noise... But power is something the Master should not have."

"A noise... Inside his head?" Clara looked over at the Master again. "What kind of noise?"

"Maybe he'll tell you about it sometime." The Doctor stood up and went to figit with the Tardis controls again. Clara moved closer to the Master. The Doctor looked up at her. "Ah, maybe we should move him."

He strode over quickly and picked The Master up with ease. Clara chuckled, glad The Master wasn't awake, knowing if he was the Doctor would more than likely lose an arm. The Doctor left the control room and Clara followed him down the hall where he turned into a room and deposited the Master onto a couch. He grinned. "He'd kill me if he knew I just did that."

He turned to leave, motioning for Clara to follow him. "Actually I... Can I stay here for a little while longer?" Clara mumbled.

The Doctor frowned in confusion and suspicion but quickly placed an emotionless mask over his face again.

"Actually I think it's time for you to go home, Clara." The Doctor left the room and Clara rushed out after him as he walked briskly back towards the control room. She was annoyed.

"What do you mean?" She exclaimed as they reached the control room and the Doctor stopped, still not looking at her. She usually spent longer with him on Wednesdays. Why was he cutting it off so suddenly?

"Well, that was your Wednesday adventure! Time for you to go back to your Earth life now.. But maybe..." The Doctor paused. The look of guilt on his face made Clara feel uneasy. "Well I was thinking... Maybe you should take a break from the Tardis for a while."

Clara's mouth dropped open. He wasn't being serious! She grabbed his arm and turned him around to face her. "Oi! You're making me leave? Why, what did I do wrong!" She took a step back, a dark realisation dawning on her. "Or did you just get sick of me?"

The Doctor groaned exasperatedly. "No, Clara, it's not that and you know full well it's not! I love having you travelling with me and I do want you to stay but... I just don't know if that's a good idea anymore. The Master is here and that fact alone puts us in danger. Things are happening that you don't understand, Clara! We're breaking so many laws here!"

Clara stood her ground and jutted her chin out adamantly as she looked up at him. "Doctor, I am my own person and I can make my own decisions. If I want to put my life in danger, I bloody well will! And I've been thinking, maybe Wednesday's not enough for me," A small smile flitted across her face. "I'd like to stay full time, if that's ok with you. You're gunna need all the help you can get with that guy anyway," She gestured towards the door of the console room. "If at any time you don't want me here anymore because you're sick of having me around or whatever, I'll go, but if it's just because you're worried about the danger, you're an idiot. Because I'm staying, alright?"

The Doctor smiled and relented. He hated when his companions left, Clara knew that, but she also knew that if he thought it was the right thing to do, he would leave them. He had done it to her before and she had been so angry at him for it, though she knew he thought he was doing the right thing. This time, she showed him that she would not stand for it anymore. He may be a powerful time Lord, but she was just as important as him when it came to opinions. Clara smirked and turned to leave the room.

"Oi, where are you going?"

"Just... For a walk around the Tardis, can I not do that now?" Clara questioned, raising an eyebrow.

The Doctor's gaze turned stern. "Clara, I don't want you going near the Master alone."

Clara sighed. "He's unconcious Doctor! But alright, alright, I'll stay out of trouble."

She left the Doctor to fix the Tardis and skipped down the hall with a smile. She hadn't exactly said that she wouldn't go near the Master, so she wasn't directly disobeying the Doctor. She came to what she hoped was the room they had placed the Master in earlier and gently pushed the door open, heart rate accelerating. _Stop doing that,_ she muttered to herself, willing her heart rate to slow down back to normal. What was wrong with her? She took a quick glance at the corridor outside her to make sure she wasn't being followed and slipped inside the room.

She took a good look at the room for the first time. The light in there was dimmed, giving the room a warm golden glow. The walls were cream with red and gold furnishings andthere were a couple of plush armchairs and a large couch. At the left side of the room was a large bookcase which covered the whole wall, filled with hundreds of books. A fire was blazing in the corner and Clara thought that she'd almost rather sleep here than in a bedroom. It was so cosy. She could imagine herself in one of the armchairs, snuggled up with her favourite book, dozing off in front of the fire.

Clara's turned her gaze to the Time Lord still lying unconcious on the couch. She walked over slowly, wondering when he'd wake up. She knelt down beside the couch and studied his face. He still looked tired, but he looked peaceful. Her eyes moved to his wrists. She wished she could take those handcuffs off. She moved her fingers down to his hand. His wrists were chaffed and red, they looked painful from obvious attempt at getting them off. She felt sad at all this man had been through. She knew he was dangerous, she knew he was a criminal and had done terrible things, but she didn't care. She sighed and dropped her hand back to her side. She didn't know when he'd wake up, but she didn't want to leave him. Something told her that this man had been alone for a very long time, and she didn't want him to be alone anymore. She walked over to the bookcase and cast an eye over the dusty volumes. She quickly found her favourite book and pulled it out; A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. She had read this book over and over, she especially loved reading it around Christmas and now that they were making it into the month of December, well on Earth anyway, she felt in the mood to read the classic again. The Doctor always had trouble remembering what time of the year it was on Earth, but Clara liked to find a way to keep track. A low noise made her jump as she was brushing the dust off the cover and she turned around quickly to see the Master beginning to stir. She hurried over, placing the book down on the floor beside her. Was he waking up?

She looked at the alien. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut, too tightly to be asleep. Clara jumped in surprise as he suddenly opened them. His eyes found hers and they locked and for a moment, Clara lost all other thought, all she could see was this man and his beautiful brown eyes. The Master was the first to look away.

"What the hell-" He struggled to sit up, doing so too quickly and looking faint again.

"Hey, easy!" Clara reached out to him, not sure what to do. She didn't want to call the Doctor just yet. She wanted some time alone with this man first. "You ok?"

"How long was I unconcious?" The Master's hand automatically rose to his head but he stopped short when he saw the restraints still on them. He swore loudly in what Clara guessed to be Gallifreyan.

"A few hours. Not that long at all, considering." She moved to sit beside him on the couch.

The Master groaned. "Stuck here as a prisoner in the Tardis with the _Doctor_. Why didn't they just kill me?"

"You should be grateful. We saved your life!" Clara couldn't understand why this man just didn't want to live. What had caused him to just give up?

"What kind of a life is this?" The Master snarled, causing Clara to recoil in slight fear, even though she somehow knew he wouldn't hurt her. "This isn't a life, it's an existance! I shouldn't even be alive. The Time Lord's only ressurected me because I had the link inside my head to bring them back." He closed his eyes, face looking defeated. Clara felt pity for him. She reached out to touch his arm comfortingly but he flinched as if she'd slapped him. Clara felt hurt, but decided he just didn't trust her yet. She didn't think this man trusted anyone.

"The link... Is that the noise?" She asked quietly. "The noise inside your head?" The Master swallowed, he wouldn't meet her eyes. "Hey," She turned his head to make him look at her. She could see the pain in his eyes. He heaved a sigh.

"The drumming," He muttered. He began tapping out a beat of four on his thigh with his restrained hands. "Always there, always, always, _always_, one two three four, every second of every day. They never leave, Clara." She could see the unshed tears in his eyes and her heart ached. Surprise registered in her at the fact that he'd remembered her name and it caused her to feel warm inside. She was shocked at this noise in his head. All the time? He heard it all the time? That would be enough to drive anyone insane. She felt tears prick her own eyes at the thought of it but pushed them back. The Master's hands figited with his restraints, she could see how much it was annoying him to not be able to use his hands. She remembered the collar on his neck and what the Doctor had told her it did. She made a snap decision in her mind, one she knew the Doctor would be furious at her for but she didn't care. She just wanted to help this man. Her hands reached out to touch the collar and the Master stiffened but relaxed after a second and didn't pull away.

"Right, let's get this off you then."

**That's chapter three done! Hope it's not too bad :p Review to let me know what you think and if I should continue :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Soooo this is chapter one two three FOUR ;;) dun dun dun dun, dun dun dun dun.. How can you not love The Master :') Hope you enjoy this one guys, keep reviewing it makes my day :D**

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The Master shook his head with a scowl and pulled away.

"I don't need your pity," He spat out, but his voice was lacking venom. Clara could tell he was tired.

"I just want to help!" She exclaimed, slightly hurt, but she was cut off by another angry response.

"I don't want your help, I don't want anyone's help!" The Master snarled. He struggled to free his hands from the Gallifreyan handcuffs, failing miserably. He heaved a sigh and gave up, looking down at the floor. "Why are you still here?" He asked quietly.

Clara was quiet for a minute, pondering her answer. "Because... Because despite everything, I don't think you deserve to be chained up. I want to help you. So please, just let me." She bit her lip nervously, anticipating his response. The Master stayed silent for a minute, considering what she had just said.

"Well?" Clara raised an eyebrow at him, trying to lighten the mood. She was determined and wasn't going to be put off by his cold behaviour. She was adamant that she was going to help this man, whether he liked it or not. The Master sighed, a half smile on his face.

He looked at Clara questioningly. "You're not supposed to though, are you?" He smirked a little.

"I can do what I want," Clara stated, standing up from the couch and giving the Master a challenging glare.

His smirk widened and he laughed. "I like you, you're not as boring as most of the Earth girls the Doctor travels with."

Clara's heart began to hammer in her chest. Yes, she could take that as a major compliment, she decided. She smiled. "Stay there," She ordered him, giving him a stern look.

"Yes m'am," The Master winked, relaxing back into the couch.

Clara slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her. She hurried down the corridor. Had she really just had friendly banter with The Master, the dangerous criminal? Why was she feeling so happy about it, it wasn't a good idea to get close to him, right? Either way, she was growing to like the renegade Time Lord more and more, good idea or not. She entered the control room quietly, although her feet echoed on the metal floor, alerting the Doctor of her presence.

"Aha, Clara! Just the person I was looking for!" A friendly voice called from below the Tardis floor. "Come here for a sec."

Clara chuckled and joined the Doctor underneath the console. She hoped this wouldn't take too long, she didn't trust the mischievius Time Lord a few rooms away not to do something reckless.

"What's up, Doc?"

The Doctor was still struggling to fix the spitting machine. "The old girl really got a battering," He muttered to himself. "I just need you to pass me the wrench over there."

Clara shook her head at the Time Lord's lazyness and went to locate the wrench. It was on the floor nearby beside a pile of other unidentifible tools. She noticed the Doctor's sonic screwdriver lying there. _He's going to kill me for this,_ she thought, feeling guilty as she slipped the screwdriver into her pocket. She handed the wrench to her friend.

"I'll leave you too it then, Doctor." She gave him a smile and scrambled back up into the main part of the Tardis again, exiting the room and leaving the Doctor to tend to his ship. She didn't think he'd even noticed she was gone, too preoccupied with his beloved Tardis. She slowed down as she neared the door to where The Master was. Or, hopefully was. Was she doing the right thing? She paused, turning the sonic screwdriver over in her hands, gazing at it. She didn't even know how to work the thing, she realised. Can't be that hard to figure out, she reckoned. She knew that she was outright defying the Doctor's rules but she wanted to help the Master. He wouldn't do anything that bad, would he? She sighed, deciding to stick with her decision to help him. She'd take off the collar at least. The Doctor could be angry with her all he liked, what that collar did was wrong, and she wouldn't stand for it.

She pushed the door open slowly and walked inside, half expecting the Master to have vanished. But there he was, exactly where she had left him earlier. She smiled and skipped over to sit beside him on the couch. He had his eyes closed and showed no sign of noticing that she was there. She reached out to touch his arm gently and he jumped,whipping his head around to look at her, having been so deep in thought he hadn't even realised she was there.

"You stayed," Clara smiled.

"Course I did," The Master responded gruffly, recovering himself. "Where else would I go?"

Clara could tell he really hated being stuck here. She pressed the button on the sonic screwdriver experimentally and it buzzed in response. She must've done something right.

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" The Master gave her an amused smile.

"It can't be that complicated," Clara muttered, giving a start when the device unexpectedly jerked in her hand and began glowing blue. The Master laughed at her. She liked seeing him laugh. It was so carefree.

"Here," He reached over and took the sonic from her hands, studying it briefly. "Sonic," He scoffed. "I used to have a laser screwdriver." He gave Clara a mischievius grin. "Much more effective."

He handed it back to her. Clara's breath caught in her throat when their hands made contact. She coughed lightly to cover up her small gasp. To her relief, The Master seemed oblivious, too busy instructing her on how to use the screwdriver.

"This button here," He gestured towards it. "Is the only one you have to press. There should be a lock somewhere at the back of the collar, I'm not sure where. Find it, point the screwdriver at it and press the button until you hear a click. Make sure you press the right button." He gave her a stern look and Clara could see a hint of fear in his hazel brown eyes. She guessed that the wrong button could trigger the amplifier.

"Ok," She muttered quietly as she reached up to the collar around The Master's neck. She found a slate of metal at the back, guessing this was the lock. She pointed the screwdriver at it and made sure she pushed the correct button. The sonic buzzed and after a second the lock released with a satisfying click. Clara removed the collar from The Master's neck with a proud smile.

"I did it," She grinned, proud of herself.

"Ah.. You did," The Master stretched his stiff neck. He looked at Clara and gave her a small smile. "Thank you, Clara."

Clara's heart began to accelerate again and her legs turned to jelly. Thank God she was sitting down. "You're welcome," She smiled back. Her eyes moved to the restraints still on his wrists. She bit her lip thoughtfully. The Master watched her actions closely.

"Having trouble deciding whether to trust me?" He smirked jokingly, but his eyes held a glint of the seriousness in his question.

"Can you blame me?" Clara quipped back.

"No," The Master said thoughtfully. "I guess not." He paused then looked into her eyes. "I won't hurt you, Clara. I can't promise I'll suddenly turn into a great person like the Doctor, I can't promise I'll stop being a _criminal_," He scoffed at the term. "But I know that if I try to escape from here the Time Lord's will kill me. So I won't try to leave. And I won't hurt you."

Clara bit her lip again, considering. She could see the sincerity in The Master's eyes. She knew he was telling the truth. She wasn't sure the Doctor would believe him though. She decided she didn't care. She pointed the sonic at the Master's wrists and unlocked the handcuffs with a click.

"You owe me one," She joked lightly.

The Master grinned, flexing his wrists. "Thank you, Clara Oswald." He touched her cheek gently for a fraction of a second, leaving Clara breathless.

"The Doctor's gunna hate me for this," Clara groaned.

"Why? For releasing a criminal?" The Master grinned cheekily but sobered up when he saw Clara's panicked expression. "Don't worry, I won't cause any trouble."

Clara sighed in relief. What were they going to do now? The Master had stood up and was walking slowly around the room.

"Where's the tv?" He asked. "I like tv's. The teletubbies are the best. Come on, the Doctor doesn't even have a tv? The least he can do is give me a tv. I had a tv when I was Prime Minister. Only good thing about being on that stupid planet. Tv's.."

Clara laughed at the Time Lord. "The teletubbies? You're such a child!" She suddenly stopped laughing. "Wait, you were Prime Minister?" Her mind reeled.

The Master smirked. "The year that never was..."

"Clara!"

Clara jumped at the sound of the Doctor's voice and looked up to see him standing in the doorway. Clara swallowed nervously and offered him a small wave, deciding keeping her mouth shut would be best at this point. The Doctor didn't look too angry, but he seemed pretty annoyed. The Master seemed to sense Clara's discomfort and stepped in.

"Ah, Doctor!" He exclaimed, spreading his free hands wide in an enthusiastic gesture. "How _lovely_ to see you again!"

"Clara, I told you not to go near him," The Doctor spoke through gritted teeth, keeping his eyes fixed on The Master, who was smiling cheerfully as if he hadn't a care in the universe.

"Doctor, I had to!" Clara stood up and crossed her arms. "What, you thought treating him like a prisoner was going to make things easier?"

"The girl knows what she's doing, she's smart. Smarter than you, oh Great Wise One."

"Shut up," The Doctor grunted at The Master's joking insult. Even though Clara was feeling bad about directly disobeying the Doctor, she couldn't help but feel at ease in the presence of the Master. He made everything more amusing, and she didn't feel intimidated by the Doctor's anger at her anymore. The Master made the situation feel like less of a big deal. She struggled to hide her smile as the Doctor struggled to contain his annoyance.

"Clara.." He grumbled. "You always try to see the best in everyone. And don't get me wrong, that's a good thing! But not in the case of him!" He pointed at The Master, who raised his eyebrows in amusement.

"Doctor.." Clara mumbled, feeling guilty. "Look, I'm sorry, I really am, but I know I did the right thing. And there's no harm done anyway!"

"It's ok," The Doctor sighed. He turned to the Master. "You do realise the severity of this situation, don't you? For once, please try to be serious about something!"

"I get it, I get it," The Master rolled his eyes. "I make one wrong move and we all die."

The Doctor opened his mouth and raised a finger as if to contradict him, pausing and then lowering it again, relenting. "Well, yes, bascially."

"So... What exactly is going on?" Clara asked. "What are we going to do?"

"Well, right now we have to make sure the Time Lord's don't find us. They'll execute _him_," The Doctor pointed to The Master, "And possibly imprison _us _for helping him. Or, worst possible senario, they'll execute us too. But anyway, moving on!" He noted the startled expression on Clara's face. "If we can figure out a way to release Gallifrey from the Time Lock, it would bring our people back and.. Well they wouldn't execute us! They're not going to punish us if we bring Gallifrey back safely!"

The Doctor smiled, clapping his hands together and looking at the Master and Clara, who both looked dubious.

"_Great_ plan, Doctor." The Master smiled cheerily at him, sarcasm lacing his tone. "Bravo, gold star for you! But _how_ exactly are we supposed to bring back Gallifrey?"

"Ah yes well... I'm still figuring that part out," The Doctor muttered sheepishly.

"Better get your thinking cap on, Doc." Clara grinned at him, glad she was forgiven and they had some sort of plan.

"He'll have to buy one first," The Master sniggered. "Do they do them in size extra small?"

Clara tried to stifle a laugh as the Doctor glared at his fellow renegade Time Lord.

"I'm going to finish fixing the Tardis. She's in a bad way, no thanks to you and your flipping madman signal." He brandished his sonic screwdriver at the Master and turned on his heel and left the room.

Well, Clara thought with a grin, at least things wouldn't be boring around here.

**Wow that took me a while to write! Hope you guys are enjoying the story, review to let me know what you think, it really makes my day! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Gunna have a go at chapter five :) Not sure if this fanfic is good 'cause I'm not that good at writing apparently since all I get in English exams are low C's and D's... But oh wellll at least I haven't failed yet :D Hope you guys are enjoying this fic, once again I own nothingg due to the fact that I am unimaginitive and poor :) The plot is the only thing I own :) Review to let me know what ye think! Love getting the feedback :)**

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It was obvious that the Doctor didn't want Clara anywhere near the Master. He tried using every possible excuse to make her avoid him, resorting to

pointless measures to attempt to make her forget about their "guest". _"Clara, have you seen this new heating feature on my sonic screwdriver? I could use it to make tea! Oh, that's a good idea, let's make tea!"_ But Clara had never been one to play by the rules, and she was not going to be bossed around by anyone, 900 year old alien or not. This was her life, she could choose to do what she wanted with it she thought angrily as she stalked off. The Doctor had been nagging her to not trust the renegade Time Lord for what felt like the thousanth time and she had had enough of it. She left him to fix his ship and went to roam the Tardis by herself. She wasn't sure where the Master was, she hadn't seen him for a while. The last she had come into contact with him was a few hours ago when he confidently offered to fix the Tardis for the Doctor who was having great difficulty getting the ship running again, and implying that the Doctor was unintelligent and that he himself would have a better chance at fixing it. This left the Doctor fuming. Clara guessed that the Master's main objective was to get the Doctor riled up.

She wasn't certain where she was going until she reached the room that they had left the Master in while he was unconcious. She suddenly realised that a nice quiet sit down by the fire with a book would be just the thing she needed for a break away from the hectic things that had been happening recently. She stepped inside the room but stopped short when she saw the Master there. She hadn't expected to see him here, she would have thought he'd be in some other part of the ship as far away from the Doctor and Clara as he could possibly get. He was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands, a pained expression on his face but whipped his head up, alert, when Clara came in. He looked at her intently but didn't say anything. His gaze intimidated her slightly, but Clara decided that she wasn't scared of this man. She walked over to the bookcase, giving the Master a quick smile over her shoulder before she turned to study the books.

"Heya, didn't expect to see you here," She stated lightly, searching for the correct book as she waited for the Master's response.

"Just came here for a bit of peace, I suppose," He paused. "Only I'm starting to think that the quiet makes it worse."

Clara's finger's found the book she was looking for, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, situated right about where she had left it the last time. She pulled it out from where it was wedged tightly between two other thick volumes and turned to face the Master.

"Makes what worse?" She asked softly, walking over to where he was seated. She sat down beside him cautiously, but he made no attempt to move away. Maybe he was beginning to trust her. She trusted him, for some reason she couldn't explain. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing, but it felt right somehow.

The Master stayed quiet for a second, a tortured look in his eyes. Clara felt her heart breaking at the pain she imagined he must be in. The Doctor hadn't told her much about the noise in his head and she wanted to find out more.

"The drumming... It... It doesn't matter," He growled softly, seeming angry at himself, not Clara. He shook his head as if to will the noise away. His gaze moved to the book in Clara's hands. "You like to read?" He asked her softly, changing the subject.

Clara smiled as she always did when asked about her favourite hobby and the Master's eyes softened slightly. "I love it!" She exclaimed. "This book here is my all time favourite though. Have you ever read it?"

"No, don't really read that much," The Master responded, amused at the girl's enthusiasm. "Never had the patience to read anything myself. Too many words."

"You're missing out on a lot," She scolded him playfully. "Reading's like being transported to another world, you get to forget about your life for a while and live someone elses." She smiled to herself.

"Maybe I'll give it a go some day," The Master obliged. "If this drumming would just stop to let me concentrate on the words." His gaze turned pained again. Clara could tell that the drums were bothering him more than he let on. She wished she could help somehow.

"Do you want me to read to you?" She asked, her eyes lighting up at her sudden idea. She could show the Master how brilliant reading really was.

"You what?" He questioned, eyebrows drawing together in confusion and surprise.

"You've never read a book, well not an Earth one anyway. I think it's time you learned what you're missing out on, Spaceboy." Clara grinned. "And it might help take your mind off the drums."

The Master looked at her, confusion and another unidentifible emotion flitting across his features. "You.. You don't think it's strange? That there's a constant drumming noise in my head? You just accept that?"

"Well... Yeah, I suppose," Clara considered. "I don't really understand though. How did it happen? Why you?"

The Master closed his eyes, whether in pain or deep in thought Clara wasn't sure. Clara put her hand on his arm encouragingly. She was curious and wanted to know more about this drumming noise that plagued the Time Lord. "Tell me," She murmured softly.

The Master sighed, eyes still closed tightly shut. "It began on Gallifrey. I was eight years old, it was my initiation for the Time Lord Academy. We all had to go through it. I stood before the Untempered Schism, looking into the Time Vortex. It hurt," The Master flinched at the memory and Clara's hand found his and squeezed it gently, willing him to go on.

"That's when it started," The Master continued, opening his dark, hate-filled eyes to look at the floor, gritting his teeth. "The drumming. I thought I was going mad," He let out a humourless laugh. "Looking into the Time Vortex can do that to you. But it turns out the drumming was no accident. It had a purpose. The noise was implanted retroactively into my mind by Rassilon as a link to free the Time Lord's from the time-lock imposed on them during the Last Great Time War. It's been there in my mind, constantly, one two three four, one two three four, ever since."

The Master looked down at their entertwined hands and then up to Clara's face with unshed tears in his eyes. "I don't know what I'd be without that noise." He murmured.

Clara felt her own eyes fill with tears at his story. Before she even realised what she was doing, she threw her arms around the Master's neck and hugged him tightly, burying her face into his shoulder. The Time Lord stiffened in surprise but relaxed after a moment. Clara held him tightly, feeling like she was keeping him together. She felt the Master's strong arms reach up to circle around her and she smiled through her tears, wanting to stay like that forever.

"I'm so sorry," She mumbled into his neck. The Master hummed in response. "I wish I could make the drums stop."

The Master pulled back and looked into her eyes. "It helps, just you being here," He murmured quietly. "Thank you."

Clara smiled, hoping that her company really was helping. "Here, how about we read that book now?"

The Master rolled his eyes with a grin. "Alright, if we have to. What's it called then?"

"A Christmas Carol," Clara sighed happily. She was determined that the Master would like this book. "This is the right time to be reading it, we'll be festive!"

"It's nearly Christmas?" The Master exclaimed.

"Of course it is! Well, Earth time anyway."

The Master gave her a look. "I've been a bit out of the loop."

Clara grinned and opened the book. "Chapter one, Marley's ghost..."

She began to read as the Master relaxed back into the couch. Every now and then she would take a peek up from the book to glance at his face, sometimes his hazel brown eyes would be closed although she knew he was listening, sometimes they were open, expectant. She felt herself smiling at his changing expressions, his reactions to various parts of the story. She knew he'd start to enjoy it once he gave it a chance. One time she glanced up again and the Master caught her at it, his mouth forming a cheeky smirk. Clara blushed and buried her head in the book again, trying not to stumble over her words.

They were interrupted by a sudden crashing sound and the Tardis began to shake.

"What's happening?" Clara yelled, closing the book and putting it on the couch beside her quickly.

"Come on," The Master grabbed her hand and pulled her up off the couch, dragging her down the hall to the control room as the Tardis shook around them and Clara struggled to keep her balance. He released her hand quickly when they entered the room, much to Clara's disappointment. She missed the feel of her hand in his.

"What's going on, Doctor?" Clara heard him shout as she gripped the Tardis wall for support.

"Oh nothing much," The Doctor yelled from somewhere out of her line of sight. "We're just crashing!"

"You idiot!" The Master rushed to the Tardis console and began pushing buttons and levers like an expert. Clara was transfixed. She'd never seen anyone fly the Tardis apart from the Doctor. The Doctor suddenly popped up into her sight again, joining the Master in their attempt to pilot the out of control ship.

"It's no use!" The Doctor yelled. "She's going down!"

**It's going down, I'm yellin' timberrrr! There you gooo, another chapter :) Hope you liked this one, please review it'd make my day!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the reviews guysss, love getting them :D The more reviews I get, the more motivated I get;;) I have a plot all sorted in my head, hopefully I'll keep a steady update going every couple of days :) Enjoyyy**

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The crash they felt indicating that they had landed was not pleasant. Clara was sure she was going to have bruises. This crashing thing was happening way too often for her liking. She grumbled to herself as she pulled herself up. The Tardis looked almost as bad as she felt. Smoke was emitting from the console and it was making a low groaning noise. She hoped it was fixable. The Master was scowling as he gave the console a good sharp kick, gaining an indignant hum from the ship and a sharp "Oi! She's fragile!" from the Doctor. He ignored both, seeming more than a bit annoyed.

"Where have we ended up now, Doctor?" He spat out angrily. "The bloody sun?"

"Funny you should mention that," The Doctor retaliated, walking casually around the console over to Clara as he adjusted his bowtie. "That's just the place I was planning on dropping you off."

"No one's going to the sun," Clara spoke up, putting herself between the two Time Lords. "Play nice." She looked at the Master knowingly and raised an eyebrow. He scowled in response and turned to stride over to the Tardis doors.

"Wait, there could be anything out there, we don't know if it's safe!" The Doctor warned.

The Master blatently ignored him and threw open the doors, stepping outside. He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, frozen to the spot.

"What is it?" Clara rushed over to him in concern, moving to stand beside him. She couldn't be sure if he'd heard her or not, but if he had, he'd decided to ignore her. He whipped around to face the Doctor.

"Do you realise what you've just done?" He hissed venomously, taking a step closer to the other Time Lord. Fear and confusion washed over the Doctor's features. Clara jumped when the Master roared his next words. "We're on Skaro, you _fool!_"

Realisation and terror registered on the Doctor's face as he pushed past the Master and ran outside the ship to confirm what had just been said.

"No.. No, this can't be right..."

"What can't be right? The fact that we're on a planet that's supposed to be either destroyed or trapped in a time-lock or the fact that you're a useless idiot?" The Master raised his voice. "Because believe it or not, both those statements are true, _Doctor!_"

"Calm down!" Clara grabbed the Master's arm. He tried to shake her off but she held on. "Stop. Fighting isn't going to get us anywhere. So just take a deep breath and lets figure out why we're here."

To her surprise, the Master went silent. The Doctor gave Clara a brief grateful smile.

"Thank you, Clara. Master, this isn't my fault that we're here, I-" He was cut off by the sound of the Tardis doors slamming shut. There was a tense moment where they all froze, looking at each other in slow horror. Clara felt dread form in her stomach. She could see the Master's expression becoming murderous. She rushed to the door and attempted to yank it open. To her dismay, it wouldn't budge. She let out a yell of frustration.

"It won't open! We're stuck here!"

The Master pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, taking deep breaths in an obvious attempt to calm himself. Clara would've laughed had she not been afraid he'd erupt into a fury again. She wasn't exactly in a laughing mood either, considering their current situation. The atmosphere around them felt thick and hazy. They seemed to have landed at the edge of a petrified forest or jungle. This planet was nothing like the beauty she had seen on Gaillfirey, but she supposed that that was to be expected in the middle of a war. A thunderous rumbling shook the ground, making Clara feel queasy.

"We're not just on Skaro," The Master growled. "We're on Dalazar. The continent inhabited by the Daleks."

Clara felt her heart constrict in fear. She felt a vague memory from one of her past lives struggle to resurface. She couldn't remember much, she couldn't really remember at all but she had suffered from nightmares about the Daleks. She knew there was something about them that had happened, something that made her almost choke on her fear but the memory was so hazy she almost couldn't rememebr. She felt her knees begin to go weak.

"Clara? Are you alright?" The Master's voice broke her out of her memory. He held her arm gently to steady her and eyed her with concern. Clara nodded.

"Just.. Just not exactly thrilled with the idea of being close to Daleks," She muttered. The Master nodded slowly and released her but moved to stand closer to her protectively. The Doctor gave Clara a knowing look. He understood about her past lives and the fear that came with them, and he understood what she was feeling now.

"Well, if we're on Skaro now, that means the Daleks are preparing for the Time War. It's probably not the best idea to hang around in one place." The Doctor began to walk over the wasteland, heading towards what looked like a mountain in the distance, although it seemed to be made of metal. Clara struggled to see through the hazy fog that filled the air.

They were cautious as they took their path. Danger, it seemed, was everywhere, including the skies as Clara glanced up to see immense ships passing by overhead. It was hard to see through the haze that covered the planet and Clara found herself stumbling often as they moved on. The ground shuddered every now and then from the impact of explosions nearby, which didn't make walking easier.

Clara heard the Doctor exhale loudly in a stressed manner from where he had just stopped a few steps ahead. He began backtracking quickly. Clara rushed over to him.

"What is it?" She whispered fearfully.

"Daleks," the Doctor muttered. "If they haven't seen us already, they will in a minute."

Clara gasped and turned around quickly, searching for the Master who had gone noticably quiet. Her heart stopped in terror as she realised he was no where to be seen. She stepped away from the Doctor and spun in a circle, struggling desperately to see through the mist.

"Master!" She called out, feeling dread grow in her stomach. "Doctor, where is he!"

The Doctor swore in Gallifreyan, looking around in aggitation. "He's left. Taken his chance to escape," The Doctor muttered bitterly. "I should have expected this. Can't say I'm surprised."

"You don't mean... He's not coming back?" Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence. The Doctor gave her a strange look, cocking his head to the side. Clara was no mind reader, but she could almost see the cogs working in his head, wondering why she _do_ you care, Clara, she wondered to herself. She couldn't deny it anymore, she realised. She had feelings for the Master. She was falling in love with him. No, she forcefully tried to stop the thoughts. She couldn't. She tried not to admit it to herself even though she knew it was true. She tried to stop thinking about it but it was there in her head, as clear as the drums were tapping away in the Master's head. She had never felt this way about anyone before. And now he was gone. He had left them, left _her,_ and he wasn't coming back. She felt her heart breaking at the realisation that she would probably never see him again. She swiped away a tear quickly and balled her hands up into to fists in an attempt to keep herself together. She couldn't afford to lose it now, even though she knew she would fall apart later, when she was alone.

"Clara.." The doctor muttered, eyeing her with concern. He knew. Or he at least suspected.

"Don't." She replied, steadying her voice. She took a deep breath to calm herself and walked over by him again. She looked over at the approaching hoard of Daleks. She suddenly didn't feel that afaid anymore, she didn't really care what happened to her. The person she had grown to care about most, didn't seem to care about her and that hurt a lot. She didn't know where he was, he could've been caught and killed by the Daleks and she would never know. She didn't know if she could go on if he was killed. How had she come to care about him so much in such a short space of time? She didn't feel fear as she looked at the Daleks which were coming a lot closer. She felt numb. She wasn't sure if this was a good thing. She looked up at the Doctor. His fearful expression had been replaced by one of firm determination. He turned to Clara.

"Clara, you need to run."

"But," Clara paused, searching the Doctor's face for an explanation. His expression was unreadable. "You're coming too right?"

"No, Clara," The Doctor said sternly, taking hold of her shoulders. Clara heard the distant shout of a Dalek in the distance. They had been spotted.

"Clara, they've seen us, they only want me. You have to run, if they catch you, they'll kill you. They won't kill me straight away, they never do," The Doctor smirked. "They'll want me for something. I have... I have a plan. I'll be fine, I promise."

"No," Clara choked out. "I can't just leave you."

"The Doctor has arrived on Skaro! He must be destroyed!"

"Doctor, they're going to kill you!" Clara cried. She couldn't desert her best friend, although she was beginning to feel the fear sink in as the Daleks came into closer view. She had enough time to run now, if she was quick. If she left it any later, it would be too late. She was torn between fear and loyalty to her friend.

"Clara, you do as I say." The Doctor said sternly. She knew there was no arguing with him. She nodded mutely in understanding. "And Clara..." The Doctor paused. "I'm sorry... About the Master. But he is no good for you."

Clara didn't say anything. She turned away and ran before the Doctor could see her tears begin to spill over. Her breath caught in her throat in a choked sob as she struggled to see through her tears and the thick fog, stumbling over debris and shards of metal, not knowing where exactly she was going but hoping she was headed in the right direction, the safest direction. _He is no good for you._ The Doctor's words replayed in her head again and again as she struggled to keep her tears under control. She swiped at them angrily. Now was not the time for crying. The Doctor had no clue what he was talking abaout. Maybe he knew the Master better than anyone, maybe he had good reason not to trust him, maybe there was truth in his words but... He didn't know what was good for Clara. Only she knew that. Only her heart knew that. Her heart that was currently shattering into a million pieces.

"Bloody Time Lord!" She screamed, taking the chance to let out her anger at the alien. He had left her, he wasn't coming back. She slowed down and took in her surroundings. Where was she? She had lost track of where she was going, the unfamiliar planet was hard to navigate. She could still hear the distant rumbling from the war ridden Dalek City, which meant she was still close by. It would probably be a good idea to find the Tardis, she figured, bu she had no idea where it was. She took off at a run again, knowing that staying in the same place would do her no good.

She stumbled over a jagged rock and tripped, falling to the ground with a thud. She swore softly, making to pick herself up. She froze as she heard the familiar mechanical buzz. She blinked a few times, wishfully thinking that maybe this was just another of her bad dreams and she'd wake up if she pinched herself hard enough. But this wasn't a dream, this was real and this was danger. The Dalek appeared out of the gloom and seemed to be having a better time at seeing through this fog than she was, spotting her instantly.

"Unfamiliar humanoid located on Skaro!" It shrieked. "Species identified as human."

Clara felt an immeasurable amount of fear well up in her. She pulled herself up off the ground, and stumbled backwards, her muscles reluctant to work. She willed them not to sieze up with the fear. Her stinging knees were nothing compared to the fear she felt right now, face to face with a Dalek. Memories began flooding back, memories of being trapped, trapped somewhere... It made her head spin and she felt as if she was drowning in fear. Instinct kicked in and she turned to run but was met with a sheer drop. She threw her arms out to steady her, shocked at how close she had come to tumbling off the edge of the cliff face that she had almost not noticed in the haze. She looked down into what could only be described as a dark abyss.

"Halt! Or you will be exterminated!"

Clara spun around to face the metal monster again, realising with a sickening fear that any of her breaths she took now could be her last. She looked around desperatly but saw no escape. She was nothing special, the Daleks didn't need her for anything, this one would just exterminate her then and there. She felt herself tremble. Her mind flashed to the Master again. She hoped he had somehow made it out of here safely. She hoped he would remember her. She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see anything anymore.

"You are disposable. You will be destroyed." The Dalek's high-pitched robot like voice made her shudder with terror.

"I don't think so."

Clara's eyes flashed open. No, it couldn't be.

"That human isn't yours to play with I'm afraid. Move aside, or I'll destroy you."

Clara felt her heart soar and hope filled her. The Master stood behind the Dalek who was now slowly turning to face the Time Lord. Her happiness was quickly replaced by fear. The Master was unarmed, the Dalek could easily kill the both of them.

"Master," She yelled in warning. He simply gave her an unconcerned wave, seemingly at ease despite the dangerous situation he was in.

"A Time Lord of Gallifrey! You are not the Doctor! You are the Master! Dalek's do not tolerate corrupt beings!"

"Watch who you're calling corrupt. You're just a disease living inside a metal case with a toilet plunger and a whisk for hands. Move aside, or I'll destroy you."

Clara once again felt amazed at the lack of terror the Master showed. He had an air of confidence around him, one that Clara wished she felt too. He stood there, devoid of worry, with that signature smirk on his face. She was still concerned about the fact that he was completely unarmed.

"You and this human are not needed here. Both will be destroyed. You will be exterminated!"

"I did warn you," The Master's glare turned menacing. Clara watched in awe as he brought his hands together and blue electricity began to build up between them. He raised his hands and Clara was blinded momentarily as the Master's entire form shone blue, a powerful glare of electricity shooting out from his hands and incinerating the Dalek. Clara's knees felt weak in shock at what had just happened. The Master's form quickly returned to normal. He rushed over to Clara. Her legs started to work again and she ran to meet him halfway, engulfing him in a hug. His arms wrapped around her firmly and Clara felt whole.

"You.. you came back," She mumbled into his shoulder, relief surging through her.

"Well, yeah," She could hear the smirk in the Master's voice. She pulled back and slapped him across the face hard, feeling satisfaction at the look of shock on his face.

"That's for leaving!" Clara yelled. "I thought you weren't coming back!"

"Jeez, didn't realise you cared," The Master replied sarcastically, rubbing his cheek. His tone turned more serious. "I did consider it, not coming back. But... I came back for you. I didn't want to leave you like that."

Clara looked up into the Master's beautiful brown eyes and felt everything slow down. He reached out wipe away a stray tear that Clara hadn't realised she had let fall and moved his hand to cup her cheek gently.

"Thank you for saving my life," Clara whispered breathlessly.

"I had to. I couldn't let you die," The Master paused. "You saved me too. You saved me from the drums. They're not as loud when you're around. Almost bearable."

Clara moved her hand up to rest gently on the Master's chest, feeling his double heart beat. One two three four, one two three four. She felt herself smile. She was glad she helped him. She looked up into the Master's eyes again and felt everything else slip away. All she knew was that she was here, with the Master and that she loved him. She was hopelessly in love with him and she couldn't deny it any more. Clara felt as though her heart was going to break out of her chest it was beating so hard as The Master gently reached up to tuck a strand of hair that had come loose from her bun behind her ear. She saw something in his eyes and for one heart-stopping moment, she was sure he was going to kiss her. Then a loud explosion quite close to them brought him back to reality and he moved away and reached to take her hand instead, pulling her along with him through the fog. Clara tried to ignore the disappointment she felt and tried to focus on not falling instead as they were going at quite a quick pace. So many questions were running through her mind. Had the Master been about to kiss her just there? Did he feel the same way about her that she felt about him? For a moment she had been almost sure he did, but now she wondered was that just wishful thinking. The Master didn't love, she had hoped she'd be the one to change that but maybe she wasn't. She hated not knowing. She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and decided to ask another question that had been on her mind instead.

"So.. What... What exactly just happened? With you and the.. blue and the..."

"I'll explain later," The Master replied gruffly. "We need to find the Doctor."

"He was taken by the Daleks, he had some sort of plan, said they wouldn't kill him straight away." Clara panted as she tried to keep up with the Master. He tightened his grip on her hand as he led them through the midst of the Dalek city, keeping to the shadows. He swore in Gallifreyan. Clara was beginning to like the sound of him doing that, even though it usually meant he was annoyed.

"The Doctor always thinks he has a plan, they never actually work the way he wants them to," The Master grumbled as they neared the huge metal building. "I should know, I've lost count of the amount of times his _plans_ got us in trouble when we were kids."

Clara chuckled quietly at the thought of them as kids. She felt somewhat saddened at the fact that they weren't still friends, though she knew the Doctor still cared about the Master. She imagined they must have had a very mischievius childhood.

The Master gently dragged her behind a pillar and leant in close to her to whisper in her ear, causing her heart rate to accelerate.

"Do as I say, ok, Clara?" He whispered hurriedly. "Stay here until I come back for you, keep quiet, don't move, you understand? I'll be two minutes, tops."

He left quickly and Clara felt fear enter her system again. She had felt so safe with him. She pressed herself against the wall to keep from being seen. There were Daleks everywhere. She hoped the Master's plan was better than the Doctor's.

It didn't take long for him to return, relief flooding through her at his grin and she smile back in return. Her small hand slipped into his as if it fit perfectly and he led her through into the building. The main hall was filled with the remains of incinerated daleks and shards of metal. The Master had obviously been clearing the way for them. She looked down at their entertwined hands. She remembered the way they had glowed electric blue. That surely wasn't normal for a Time Lord? She would question him about it again later, she decided as they hurried down deserted halways. And this time she was determined to get an answer.

"Ready?" The Master murmured to her with a smile. Clara wasn't sure what for, but she nodded. She would do whatever she had to to help the Doctor.

The Master let go of her hand and moved to stand in front of her. His body flashed blue again and he destroyed the huge metal double doors with a bolt of electricity, stepping through without hesitation. Clara hurried to follow him, glancing around to see what they had just stepping into.

They were in a huge hall, filled with Daleks, and in the middle of them was the Doctor. He looked up in surprise as they entered the room. Clara imagined th daleks would be surprised too, if they had emotions. She was surprised herself. She just hoped the Master's plan, whatever it was, would work. She noticed the Tardis in the corner of the room, guarded by Daleks. They must have brought it here, she realised.

"What is this?" A Dalek began to approach them. "Another Time Lord! And -"

"And a human, yes, yes I know we've been through this before. I'm here to take the Tardis and that dunce over there so if you don't mind-"

The Dalek moved forward quickly and stopped the Master from going any further, it's deadly weapon poking the Time Lord in the chest. Clara gasped. One wrong move and the Master could be killed. She made to take a step forward but the Doctor caught her eye from across the room and shook his head in warning. She reluctantly stayed put.

"If it's all the same to you," The Master gave the dalek a death glare. "I'd rather you took your cooking utensil out of my face."

"You are one. We are many. How do you expect to recover the Tardis and the Doctor alive?" The Dalek questioned.

"I have my ways," The Master flashed a smile and moved away from the robot.

"What is the human doing here?" Another Dalek spoke up. "This is the Doctor's companion. She must be destroyed."

"Touch her and you die!" The Master snarled, whipping around to face the Dalek. Clara noticed small sparks of electricity begin to build up in his palms. She wondered if it was triggered by anger.

"You have no chance against us, Time Lord," The Dalek that had first acknowledged them spoke up. "We have the Doctor and the Tardis. You are both renegade Time Lord's, we know of your trial for execution." The Master glared at it challengingly with a slight frown and walked closer slowly, listening intently to what it had to say. "The Time Lord's want you and the Doctor captured, along with the human. They locked your Tardis coordinates to Skaro so they could retrieve you, entrusting us with your capture. But we do not trust Time Lord's. As they have just proved, they make mistakes. We now have the Tardis and we will use it and the Doctor as a power source to destroy the Time Lord's when they arrive."

"You know," The Doctor spoke up. "It's really not a good idea to break a bargain with the Time Lord's, especially not when you're on the brink of a war with them."

"By the Time they arrive, it will be too late. We will have destroyed their leaders. Winning the war will be definite."

"Stop," Clara spoke up. "Destroying the Time Lord's isn't the answer. That will only lead to the destruction of your planet!"

She somehow futily hoped that if she got through to them, it would change things and no one would get hurt.

"She's right," The Doctor agreed. "Skaro burns, I've seen it. If you go through with this, maybe you will have the upper hand in the war. But that won't stop the destruction of Skaro!"

The Daleks paused. For a second, Clara thought that maybe they had changed their minds.

"Skaro will not burn. We will destroy the Time Lord's. And we will destroy you. Starting with the Doctor."

"Master," Clara hissed in alarm as the Daleks turned to face the doctor. If he didn't do something now, they would all die.

"Wait," The Master held up his hands and went to stand over by the Doctor. He turned to Clara and inclined his head to the side slightly, gesturing for her to move to the corner of the room. She did so unnoticed as every Daleks attention was now on him. "I'm giving you one chance. Stop this and let us go, or I'll have to destroy every last one of you."

Clara watched as the Daleks considered. She saw the look of confusion on the Doctor's face, mingled with expectation. She couldn't tell if he knew about the Master's powers or not, but it seemed like he suspected them.

"How do you expect to destroy us, Time Lord?" The main Dalek questioned.

"My name, is the Master." His expression was cold and ruthless. "And it doesn't matter _how_ I destroy you. All that matters is the result. I'm giving you the decision. Let us go, or die. Which one will it be?"

"Negative. The Daleks will not die!"

"Four."

"The Daleks will _not_ die!"

"Three." Clara realised that the Master was counting down.

"You cannot destroy us. You are unarmed!"

"Two."

"You will be destroyed!"

"One.." The Master looked to the Doctor who ducked out of the way and rushed to the edge of the room.

"Exterminate him!"

"Zero!" The Master yelled and Clara flinched, shutting her eyes against the bright blue light that engulfed the room. It was so powerful, Clara could almost feel it, though she was safely tucked away in the corner of the hall. She cowered against the wall until the electric blue glow went away and it was just the Master standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by a hoard of burned metal. Not one Dalek was left intact. Clara stood up shakily. The Master took a hesitant step forward. He flashed blue again, a glowing outline of his bones showing, leaving Clara speechless. He seemed weak and he wobbled slightly as he took another small step forward. Clara rushed over to help him.

"Stay back!" He yelped, holding a hand out to stop her. He shuddered as he flashed blue again. When he returned to normal, Clara could see he looked exhausted.

"The Time Lord's will be here any minute!" Clara looked over to see the Doctor pushing open the door of the Tardis. "Come on, let's get out of here now!"

Clara reached out and took the Master's hand, pulling him with her to the Tardis at a light run. They hurried inside, glad to be leaving Skaro. Clara hoped she'd never have to see it again.

She pulled the Tardis door firmly shut behind them, closing them off from the destruction outside, knowing that today's events had led them to believe that a lot more trouble lay ahead. But for now, she thought as she turned around to face the two Time Lord's, hands on hips, the Master had a _lot _of explaining to do.

**Longg chapter there! there was gunna be more in it but it was so long I said I'd leave that for the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed it and hope I'm keeping the characters in character. If you think it's crappy and have any advice for me on how to make it better, let me know, I'm open to constructive criticism :) Please review to let me know what you think! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter seven is uppp and full of angst :o ;;) Wanted to get some Master and Doctor friendship in there too at some point so I'm putting it in here :) I'm really dragging out the Master/Clara romance, I know, I'm sorry ;;) Hope you guys like it, thanks for the reviews!**

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Clara turned her back on the Tardis doors to face the scene in front of her. The Master was kneeling on the floor, the Doctor standing at his side, looking down at him in concern. The Master looked down at his hands in horror, flexing them in an attempt to rid himself of the blue electricity that coursed through them. Clara made her way over slowly. The Master seemed to have got his condition under control and sat back onto the ground, looking too exhausted to do much else. Clara didn't know what to say. She felt worried and hopelessly confused. Fortunately, it was the Doctor who broke the silence.

"Last time I saw you, you'd nearly burnt up your own life force doing that."

"Last time I saw you, you had a different face." The Master glared up at the Doctor who nodded slowly in agreement.

"Another regeneration. Happened right after you foiled Rassilon's plans and I thought you'd been taken into the time-lock and trapped for good." The Doctor's tone turned angry, surprising Clara. "Of course, you're not a fan of regeneration, are you?"

"Not a fan of being your prisoner more like," The Master spat out.

"I.. I don't understand," Clara interrupted. "What's this about? What's with.. What's happening to you?" She crouched down beside the Master's weary form.

"That's what I'd like to know," The Doctor raised his eyebrows at the other Time Lord and leaned back to rest on the console, folding his arms over his chest. "I think you should explain how you're still alive in this form. And you can explain everything else to Clara while you're at it."

"Give me a break, I just saved your lives, just leave it."

"No, we need to sort this out now," The Doctor stated firmly. Clara nodded in agreement. The Master looked at Clara wearily.

"I was resurrected by the Time Lord's as a link to bring Gallifrey back. Something went wrong." He paused, anger clouding his features. "It wasn't a proper regeneration. I returned looking more or less the same, but my body was dying. It was born out of death, all it could ever do was _die._ That's why my form keeps shifting from solid to... Not quite there." He gave a wry, humourless smile and looked up at the Doctor. "When I reached Gallifrey, the air in the atmosphere began to cure it, reacting with my body and bringing me back to normal, helping me control it. I wasn't there for long enough though. I can more or less keep it under control now but if I need to I can... Use it again."

"So there's... No cure?" Clara questioned as the Master heaved himself up off the floor. She rose aswell.

"No."

"You're stuck like this until you can get to Gallifrey again long enough for the air to fix you?"

"Yes."

"But, you can kind of control it?"

"That's what I said," The Master snapped, aggitated. Clara frowned at his bad mood. She open her mouth to retaliate but thought against it. Now was not a good time to antagonise him.

"I'm more than a bit concerned at the destructive purposes your using your.. Current situation for." The Doctor spoke up, glaring at the Master. "Was it really necessary to kill all those Daleks?"

"Yes, it was," The Master snarled. "They deserved it, I'd do it again if I had to. I'd pay to have a good seat to watch Skaro burn! I don't see why we don't we just go back now and destroy them all. End it before it begins."

"You haven't changed a bit," The Doctor scowled. "Always using your power to destroy. That's all you want, destruction and chaos!"

"The Doctor's right," Clara spoke up. "I know you destroyed the Daleks to save us, and I know that was the only way we could escape but if you keep abusing the power you have you could cause huge damage!"

"It's not all bad," The Master grinned sarcastically, spreading his arms wide enthusiastically. "This _condition_ of mine has it's good points. I can use the electric current to control the weather and make it snow!"

"Really?" Clara wondered aloud, awestruck.

"Of course not. Go away."

Clara crossed her arms with an indignant hum. She had to admit, as ridiculous as the idea of the Master making it snow now sounded, she was disappointed. She loved snow.

"In spite of all the wrong you've done, you saved my life," The Doctor stated plainly. "I suppose I should thank you for that."

"I didn't do it for you!" The Master hissed. "I was repaying a debt. You, unfortunately saved me from execution on Gallifrey, burdening me with the fact that I owed you. But now I don't. I owe you _nothing._ I could leave whenever I want."

"Then why don't you?" The Doctor challenged. "You can't, you know you can't, you'd be found by the Time Lord's and killed in an instant. I won't let that happen." The Doctor's expression turned to one of sadness and determination. "I _won't_ let you die. Not again. Not like the last time."

"Cut the act, _Doctor!"_ The Master shouted. Clara wondered if she should leave them to it. She wasn't enjoying the tense atmosphere and this argument seemed to be between the Master and the Doctor. Her curiousity to find out more got the better of her though, and she stayed put. The Master continued in his rage. "You only wanted me alive because you thought we were the only two left! You didn't want to be alone, you prat, you didn't care about _me._ The Time Lord's are still alive, Doctor, we're not the only ones left anymore! I don't understand why you didn't just let me _die._"

The Doctor flinched at the Master's venemous words. Clara's heart ached for the Master, this broken man. He truly didn't believe anyone cared about him. She wanted to reach out to him, hold his hand and tell him it was ok, that she cared, that the Doctor cared, that she cared more than he'd ever know, but she couldn't. His temper was flaring and she felt that it wasn't the right time.

"You know that's not true!" The Doctor yelled indignantly. His eyes shone with unshed tears as he battled with a painful memory. "When you refused to regenerate... I thought you were really dead. I was so _angry_ at you! But don't you see?" The Doctor took a step towards the Master, who recoiled. "I cared! After all this time, I still thought of you, still think of you as my best friend!"

"Even after all I've done?" The Master's voice lowered to barely a whisper, his eyes full of pain and sorrow.

"Even after all that." The Doctor replied solemly.

"Then you're nothing more than the fool I took you for." The Master hissed and left the room, hands clenched into fists, a faint blue glow beginning to spark between them which he quickly snuffed out.

Clara made to go after him but the Doctor stopped her.

"Leave him. He'll come around. He's having a bad day."

"I think we're all having a bad day." Clara raised her eybrows at the Doctor.

"No I mean.. With the drums. I don't know much about that noise but I think some days it's much louder than others."

Clara felt tears prick her eyes. She blinked them back. "Isn't there anything we can do to help him, Doctor?"

"He needs to let us help him first." The Doctor grimaced. He moved to the battered Tardis console but didn't start flicking levers and buttons as he usually did. Instead he gripped the edge of the console and stared into space, lost in his thoughts. Clara was alarmed when his eyes suddenly filled with tears.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" She questioned, moving to stand beside him.

The Doctor took a deep breath. "My best friend Clara. He was my best friend. He was my _brother._ He died right in front of me," The Doctor closed his eyes at the painful memory. "It was just a bullet, just a bullet. He refused to regenerate." The Doctor opened his eyes again. "He would rather die than be imprisoned with me. My best friend. Then when he came back, I couldn't belive he was alive but.. He still hated me. Hated everyone. He's so full of anger and _hate._ Clara, he feels so alone. I just wish I could make him see that he's not."

Clara nodded in thought. Her mind was reeling. The Master had been shot? Had refused to regenerate? He had just wanted to die? She felt her heart hammer in her chest at the panicking thought.

"I know you wish that too," The Doctor murmured again. "I know, Clara. I can see it in your eyes when you look at him. You care about him more than you're letting on."

Clara opened her mouth to respond and closed it again. She didn't know what to say.

"I.. What are you talking about?" She stammered nervously, opting to play the denial card.

"Maybe you don't want to admit it to me yet, maybe you don't even want to admit it to yourself. But, Clara," The Doctor grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes sternly. "I'm telling you now, you can't. You cannot get involved with him, Clara. I know the Master better than anyone, he is devious, evil and most of all, dangerous. You saw what he did today, he wiped out all those Daleks without a second thought. He's ruthless. I wish I could trust him, but I can't."

"I trust him," Clara murmured. "I know he won't hurt me. Everyone deserves a second chance, Doctor."

"Not him, Clara. Not him." The Doctor pleaded with her. "Please, ignore whatever feelings you have for him and don't get too close to him."

"But you just said he needs to know that he's not alone!" Clara protested. "He needs to know that someone cares about him, Doctor!"

"Why him, Clara," The Doctor groaned in frustration. "Out of all people, _why him?_"

"Because... Because I love him," Clara choked out through her sudden urge to cry. "That's all I can say."

"No," The Doctor murmured. "Clara... The Master doesn't love. He's not capable of love! You'll only get your heart broken."

"So be it," Clara jutted out her chin adamantly and pulled herself out of his grasp, exiting the room and leaving the Doctor behind her. Who was he to tell her who she could and couldn't love? Maybe he was right, maybe the Master wasn't capable of loving. Maybe nothing would ever happen between them and the thought of that alone broke her heart. But that wouldn't change how she felt about him. That would never change. She knew there was something there, something in the Master that showed that he cared for her. She hoped that she could prove the Doctor wrong.

She was opening the door to the room and walking inside before she even knew that that was where she was headed. She somehow knew that the Master would be there. She wondered if he slept there. He seemed to prefer it to the room the Doctor allocated for him. She suddenly realised as she looked at him, sitting on the couch, head in his hands, that he probably hadn't slept since he had joined them onboard the Tardis. He raised his head to look at Clara. Their eyes locked and neither of them seemed to be able to look away. His eyes were tired, he looked completely worn out.

"Feeling less angry?" She questioned with a glare, raising an eyebrow challengingly and corssing her arms. "Ready to talk to me without biting my head off?"

The Master scoffed but his expression quickly softened. "I'm sorry," He muttered.

Clara was taken aback. She had expected a possible shouting match, some hurtful jibes at least. She unfolded her arms and walked over to the Master, hovering beside him.

"It's ok," She murmured. She hated seeing him looking so tired and sad. "I understand, I know how you feel. You hate being stuck here, I know. You feel trapped and lonely, I get what that's like, I just want to hel-"

"No," The Master's glare turned cold. "No, Clara. You can't hear the drumming, the constant noise inside my head that I have to live with every day of my life! You have no idea what that's like."

"I just-"

"Can you hear them, the drums?" The Master looked at her earnestly.

"No," Clara stammered. "But-"

The Master's eyes turned hard and unforgiving.

"Then tell me, Clara Oswald, how do you know how I _feel_?"

He left the room, leaving Clara feeling hurt and confused. She could almost still feel the Master's fingers tapping out the beat of the drums on her arm. She walked over to the bookshelf and took out a book, sitting down on the couch. She shook her head and got up again, moving to one of the arm chairs instead. The couch felt too big and empty without the Master there with her and she felt lonely. She sat down and began to read. Taking her mind off things seemed to be the only thing she could think of doing right now.

By the time she looked up from her book again, it was late, she could tell. She was feeling exhausted. She padded across the hall down to the control room to see if the Doctor was still up. He was, as she expected, prodding the console with a spanner. He looked tired. Clara realised he hadn't slept in a while either. She wasn't sure how much sleep Time Lord's needed but she was sure that the Doctor and Master were long due some rest. She approached the console and greeted her friend.

"You look tired, you need to sleep."

"Says the human," The Doctor smiled cheekily and she slapped his arm playfully. She did feel tired, she had to admit, and she knew she needed more sleep than the aliens, but she didn't want to sleep yet.

"Go on, go to bed," She ordered. She felt partially responsible for the unsensible alien, knowing that he wouldn't sleep unless forced to.

"I think I will," He yawned. "I'm not sure how long I'll be asleep for, wake me up in the morning if you're up before me yeah?"

"Alright," She smiled. She wished it was that easy to get the Master to agree to sleep. "Night, Doctor." She left to go back to her own room in the Tardis, satisfied that the Doctor had promised to get some rest. As she passed the room they had first deposited the Master in what felt like so long ago, she couldn't help but peek in. There was no one there. She figured the Time Lord must be in his own room. She wondered if he was getting any sleep. Hopefully, he was, but she wouldn't bet on it.

She changed into pyjama's, in her case, comfortable sweat pants and a tank top. She closed over her door but left it ajar to let some light in from outside. It was only once she'd clambered into bed and lay down, tugging the covers up around her protectively that the thoughts she had been trying so hard to ignore began to plague her. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Daleks. She didn't want another nightmare. She was afraid to sleep, she knew that the nightmares about her past lives would definitely plague her tonight after the Dalek incident today. She shuddered at the memory.

She lay there for what felt like hours, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling. She was angry at herself for letting fear get the better of her. She knew she needed to sleep, she'd need all the strength she could get to face what was to come.

That was when she heard it. At first she thought her brain, foggy with tiredness was just imagining the noise. But she heard it again. A muffled whimpering sound, almost like someone was... Crying? She sat up in bed, listening intently, glad for the distraction from sleep. When the noise didn't relent she heaved herself up off the bed, padding across the floor lightly to her door and pulling it open. She stood out in the doorway, listening. The noise was coming from down the hall, behind one of the many doors. Curiousity got the better of her and she made her way down quietly so as not to disturb whoever or whatever it was that was making the sound. As she neared it, she realised that it was definitely someone crying, it sounded like they were in pain.

She reached the correct door and leaned her ear against it, listening. Yes, the noise was definitely coming from in there. Heart hammering in her chest, she gently eased open the door and peeked in. A small surprised gasp came from inside the dimly lit room at her entrance. She was shocked to see the Master, curled up in the corner of the room against the wall. She saw fear in his eyes. He looked like a lost little boy.

"What are you doing here?" He choked out angrily, trying to back away but he was stopped by the wall behind him.

"I..." Clara didn't know what to say. She was taken aback at seeing the Master looking so vunerable with all his shields down. This was such un-Master like behaviour, she was almost unsure how to respond. She answered his question with another question. "What is it, Master? What's wrong?"

"Leave. Me. _Alone,_" He hissed venomously, but Clara couldn't. She couldn't leave him. She closed the door gently and made her way across the room, crouching down beside the broken Time Lord. His breaths came in shuddering gasps and tears streamed down his face as he squeezed his eyes shut with pain. Clara reached out to him but he recoiled in fear with a choked whimper.

"Tell me what's wrong," She murmured. It hurt her to see him like this. She felt some of her anger towards him boil to the surface. "I'm not leaving you like this! You look like you're in pain, please just tell me what I can do to help!" Her voice cracked on the last word. She felt so frustrated that he wouldn't let her help him, that he kept pushing her away. She wouldn't let him, not anymore.

"You can't," The Master's voice cracked. "No one can help me."

He was shaking, with fear or pain or maybe both, Clara wasn't sure. She took his hand in hers and this time he didn't pull away. He looked defeated. She didn't ask the question again, she just waited for his answer.

"It hurts, Clara," He mumbled finally. "The drums, they won't stop. They're so loud."

Clara felt tears prick her own eyes and begin to spill over at his pain. She wrapped her arms around him and held him as sobs wracked his body. She hadn't realised how bad the drumming was until now. She wondered if she was one of the only people who he had let his guard down for, let them see the pain he was really in.

"It hurts," She felt the Master wince. He pulled away from her embrace suddenly. "I feel so _weak_," He hissed angrily, angry at himself, his hands clenching into fists.

"You're not weak," Clara murmured. "You're not."

The Master whimpered and held his head in agony. Clara felt helpness as her own tears streaked down her face, she didn't even try to fight them anymore.

"I can't take it anymore," He whimpered. "I thought it would stop... I refused to regenerate, I _died,_ but of course I was never fully _dead_, I was brought back with the drumming stronger and louder than ever before." He looked at Clara, his deep brown orbs filling with tears. "Will it ever stop, Clara?" He choked.

"I'm so sorry," Clara whispered, letting her tears fall. "I wish there was something I could do to help you."

"Why?" The Master questioned challengingly. "Why, after everything I've done, why would you want to help me?"

Clara's breath caught in her throat. _Because I love you._ She wished she could tell him, but she couldn't. She didn't have the courage.

"Because I hate seeing you in pain like this," She replied truthfully.

The Master's sobs had subsided to tears silently streaming down his face. He was taking deep shuddering breaths, trying to calm himself. Clara could still see the pain in his eyes as he looked at her.

"You really are a puzzle to me, Clara Oswald." He murmured, shaking his head in wonder. He still looked hurt, broken.

"When's the last time you slept?" Clara questioned, gently reaching out to touch his face and wipe away some of his tears. The Master shrugged unhelpfully.

"You're exhausted, you need some rest," She insisted.

"Don't you see?" The Master snapped. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. "Sorry," He mumbled. "You don't understand, I _can't_ sleep. Everytime I close my eyes, the drumming gets louder and I can't function."

"It's ok," Clara murmured, touching his arm softly. "It will get better, I promise." She was going to try her hardest to help the Master through this. The Time Lord was still shaking slightly. He looked at Clara and she could see so much fear in his eyes.

"Stay," He murmured, the word coming out as a timid question.

"I'm not going anywhere," Clara smiled. The Master put his arms around her and held her close to him. She enjoyed the feel of being in his arms. She felt the Master's head rest on hers gently as he absentmindedly tapped the four beat rythm on her arm softly. She somehow knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight, but he had calmed down a lot now that she was here. Maybe she was already helping him. Maybe this was him letting her in. It took her a while, but she eventually felt herself drifting off to sleep to the beat of the drums tapping on her arm.

**That's chapter 7 :D Hope you liked it, I just wanted to put some Master and Doctor firendship in there and I wanted to show another side of the Master that's scared and vunerable, cause I know he's got that side, but he's only showing it to Clara :) Hope you liked it, in the next chapter the Master's gunna be showing his evil side and we're really getting to the Master/Clara romance bit ;;) Review to let me know what you think :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for all the reviews, especially with the constructive criticism. I went back and changed bits to some of the earlier chapters, hopefully I've i've improved them. Keep reviewing to let me know what you think!**

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When Clara awoke, she found that she was in her own bed, in her own room. She sat up slowly, groggily, raising a hand to her head in thought, trying to push past the tiredness that was fogging up her brain to the nagging suspicion that she wasn't where she had fallen asleep last night. A moment later it clicked and she felt the memories flooding back, from leaving her room to find the source of the muffled noise to falling asleep in the Master's arms. She looked around her room. How did she get here, she wondered. Was last night all a dream? No, she decided firmly, it hadn't been a dream. The Master must have carried her back here at some point, that was the only possible explanation. The thought of it made her stomach flutter. She gave the room a quick once over. Nothing seemed out of place. He must've laid her down in her bed and left, where to, she wasn't sure. She shot out of bed and went to freshen up, pondering over last nights events. The fact that she'd had no nightmares was a priviledge to her, though she didn't get much sleep. It must have been something to do with the Master's presence. If she was alone, she was sure she would've suffered from the bad dreams.

After showering and changing into some new clothes, she made to leave her room, padding down the hallway to the control room. She wondered vaguely if the Doctor was awake yet. There was a possibility that he was still asleep, he didn't sleep often but when he did, he often stayed unconcious for a long time. She decided she'd check the control room for him, if he was awake he'd surely be there, and if he was still asleep she'd go wake him. She would've liked to let him rest for longer, but with the situation they were in now, with everything in chaos and the risk of the Time Lord's finding them upon them, she needed the Doctor more than ever.

She entered the control room, expecting to find the Doctor there. What she did not expect, was to find the Master in his place, rushing around the console with a look of fierce determination on his face and a glint of madness in his eyes. He looked as if he had freshened up too, he was wearing different clothes and looked well-groomed. The sleeves on his crisp white shirt were pulled up to his elbows and he worked with adamant concentration. He was piloting the ship, pulling levers and turning dials at a dizzyingly fast pace. He showed no sign of noticing her there, though he must have heard her come in. Clara broke out of her shock and took a step forward.

"Oi! What are you doing?" She demanded indignantly.

"Ah, Clara, how nice to see you," The Master forced a sarcastically cheery smile onto his face. "I'm flying the Tardis."

"I can see that," She frowned. "I don't think you should be doing that. Where's the Doctor? Is he still asleep?"

"Maybe, doesn't matter if he's not really. I nicked his sonic screwdriver and locked him into his room." The Master went back to fiddling with the controls on the Tardis.

"You what!" Clara yelled, striding over to him. He bounced away, frustration showing on his face as he struggled to pilot the ship.

"Come _on,_ stop playing up!" He growled, thumping his fist down on the console in rage. "Idiotic machine."

"What are you doing?" Clara cried. He was up to something, why else would he want the Doctor out of his way? She glanced over her shoulder at the door. She needed the Doctor, whatever the Master was doing wasn't good. Maybe the Doctor was right not to trust him.

"The only thing I'm good at," The Master looked up at her and smirked. "Causing chaos." Clara's head was spinning in shock and confusion. The Master continued.

"I'm going to find Gallifrey," The Master muttered. "Aha!" He exclaimed excitedly with a grin as he gained control of the ship once again. "Aaaand I'm going to destroy it!"

"Wha- Are you _insane_?" Clara yelled over the whooshing of the Tardis.

"Possibly."

"You can't! Those are your people!"

"I can't?" The Master whipped his head around and glared at her with a snarl. "Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?"

Clara's mouth went dry with panic. She couldn't let him do this. He rushed around the console excitedly, tranformed into the dangerous, mad criminal that the Doctor had warned her about.

"My dear friend the Doctor inspired this one," He grinned cheerfully. "He always told me I don't need to rule the universe. Well, now I'm not, I'm destroying it!"

He laughed. It was a scary sound in this situation. He was so unlike the man she had seen last night, but at the same time, he was exactly the same, hurt and broken, and plagued by the never ending drum beat. The main difference was that his anger had intensified, driving him to do this. Clara rushed over to him and put herself between the Time Lord and the Tardis console.

"Stop," She insisted. "Think about this for a second!"

"I have thought about it!" The Master roared, startling her and causing her to jump. "They did this to me!" He stepped closer to her, intimidatingly. Clara could see the insanity in his eyes and she felt frightened. "All my life!" He brought his fist down on the console again beside her. "The noise! The drumming in my head! They deserve to die! Every single last one of them."

He moved around her back to the console again, rage clouding his features. Clara felt her own temper flare up.

"No, you can't! You'll kill everyone!" Her eyes filled with tears. "There are children there, Master."

The Time Lord didn't respond.

"Listen to me!" Clara yelled, stalking over and grabbing his arm, desperate to get through to him.

"Get _off,_" He growled. Clara let go reluctantly, but stared at him fiercely as he continued. "All I want is for Gallifrey to _burn._ For the Time Lord's to get what they deserve."

Clara now realised what the Doctor had meant when he'd referred to him as ruthless. He looked so angry, Clara knew that he would destroy this planet in an instant without hesitation. She needed to distract him, keep him talking until she could think of a way to stop him.

"How do you plan on doing that?" She questioned. "Even if you do find it, they'll try to kill you."

"I'll kill them first."

"How?" She yelled. "How are you going to destroy a whole planet that fast?"

"Oh, Clara, Clara, Clara," The Master walked over to her, smiling like a madman. She was beginning to wonder if he really was insane. "Don't you see? I won't be destroying them. They'll be destroying themselves!" He laughed. The sound caused a shiver to run down through her.

"How?" She breathed, her voice barely above a whisper.

"The drums, the Time Lord's created them. Now I'm giving them back. Along with my suddenly _very_ useful condition." He smirked. "I can use the link to find Gallifrey and bring the Tardis to it. The drumming in my head can be transmitted across the planet, along with the electricity I can generate," He looked down at his hands which were now crackling and sparking blue. "Combined, they can wipe out the entire race, causing everything to _burn._"

Clara gasped, tears forming in her eyes. She couldn't believe he wanted to destroy that beautiful planet. She knew she didn't have much time but she wouldn't let him do this. She took a deep breath. Instead of yelling at him, she tried a different approach. She walked over to him and looked up at him. She reached out to take his hand but he pulled it away sharply. It was still sparking with electricity.

"What are you doing?" He hissed. Now was her chance to see if she really could trust him, to see if he really wouldn't hurt her.

"Give me your hand," She ordered. "Now."

The Master swallowed and looked down at her, confusion marring his features. Clara reached for his hand again, this time making contact with it. The Master gasped and the electricity in his palms quickly evaporated. Clara smiled inwardly at her small victory. He wouldn't hurt her, that had now been proven by the fact that he'd stopped the electricity straight away so she wouldn't be affected. And she had slowed him and his plans down, for a short while at least.

She squeezed his hand tightly, looking up into his eyes in earnest.

"This is your home, Master," She murmured. "Your childhood."

"_Childhood. _More like a life of duty," The Master scoffed, but the anger had begun to evaporate from his eyes at Clara's touch.

"You're better than this," She whsipered, tears beginning to spill over. "I know you are. You don't have to do this. You don't have to kill anyone."

"They deserve it, Clara," Desperation to make her see that what he was doing was evident in his face. "They.." He trailed off, tears forming in his own eyes.

"Please," Clara whispered, holding his hand tightly in hers. "Please, I'm asking you. Don't do this."

The Master paused, torn. He looked towards the console, a look of frustration flitting across his face. He seemed to be fighting an inward battle with himself for what felt like an agonisingly long time to Clara.

"Clara," He groaned finally. "Anyone else and I'd still do it. I'd probably kill them too, for trying to stop me." There was still frustration in his eyes as he released his hand from her grasp and moved back to the Tardis controls. "Anyone else," He murmured, more to himself than her. He worked slower this time, resetting everything he had done previously in preperation for the attack on Gallifrey. Clara smiled, relief flowing through her.

"Thank you," She touched his arm gently. He didn't look at her.

"I really must be insane," He muttered wryly. He looked at Clara, shaking his head in frustration and wonder. "You're impossible."

"No, I'm Clara," She joked, trying to lighten the mood. To her surprise, the Master cracked a smile. He tossed the sonic screwdriver at her. She caught it, proud at the small achievment.

"The Doctor's not grounded anymore," He smirked. Clara gave a light chuckle in response and made to leave. She stopped as she reached the door, looking back at the Master who was still fiddling with the controls of the Tardis. She paused for a second, looking down at the screwdriver in her hands in thought. She raised her head to look at the renegade Time Lord.

"Can I trust you?" She asked.

He looked at her, taken aback by her sudden question. After a short pause, he replied truthfully. "Yes."

Clara gave him a brief but genuine smile and left the room, hurrying down the hall. She wasn't exactly sure where the Doctor's room was, she had never been in there, she considered it private and didn't question him about it. _Come on, _she urged the Tardis, _where is he?_ She walked on a bit more until she could hear a muffled shouting.

"Doctor?" She called out, rushing to the door. She muttered a quick thank you to the ship. The Tardis always helped the Doctor. She fumbled with the sonic screwdriver and located the same button she had presssed when taking the collar and handcuffs off the Master. She pointed the screwdriver at the door, pressing the button down and it buzzed in response. The door unlocked with a click and she pushed it open. The Doctor came tumbling out. He grabbed her shoulders, his hair slightly messy and panic in his eyes.

"Where is he?" He demanded, slightly out of breath from his efforts at trying to get the door open.

"The control room I think... Doctor wait!" She hurried to keep up with the Time Lord who had taken off at a sprint. He burst into the control room, Clara not far behind. The Master looked up from where he was leaning casually against the console. He smiled in greeting, giving the Doctor a little wave.

"What did you do?" The Doctor demanded. Clara could tell he was trying hard to keep his anger under control. She looked to the Master. she could tell he was going to wind the Doctor up.

"I think you mean what didn't I do," He smirked. "I mean, I _was_ going to destroy Gallifrey bu-"

"_What!_" The Doctor roared, tearing across the room and grabbing the Master by the scruff of his shirt. Clara gave a startled shriek.

"Uh oh," The Master exclaimed, a manic smile on his surprised face, not bothering trying to fight against the Doctor's hold on him. He didn't care. "Not so friendly now are we, _Doctor?_ What's the problem?"

"Let him go!" Clara yelled. The Doctor released him reluctantly, taking a step back, rage in his eyes.

"Why?" He questioned, tears of rage and hurt forming in his eyes. "Why would you do that?"

"So they'd die." The Master stated simply, his face devoid of emotion.

"Why did you want them to die!"

"Revenge," The Master growled, his fingers tapping out the rythm of the drumming on the side of the console.

"You're mad!" The Doctor yelled, eyes still brimming with tears. "You were really going to destroy Gallifrey. Our _home."_

"No, _not _our home," The Master hissed. "That place is corrupt. I should've destroyed it. The only reason I changed my mind is because-" He stopped short, his chest heaving with each breath as he tried to keep his temper in check, not knowing how to form the words. Clara approached the Doctor and put a hand on his arm.

"Doctor, he didn't go through with it. It's ok, it's over."

The Doctor shook his head angrily, whether in defiance or just anger Clara wasn't sure.

"What is wrong with you two!" She exclaimed suddenly. The two Time Lord's looked at her in surprise. "You were best friends, and you just threw that all away! What happened? Why won't you just stop this and get along?"

"He's a prat."

"He's insane."

Clara sighed. "You two are being so difficult. We're in danger, the Time Lord's could find us at any time and we need to work together or we have no chance! Fighting with each other isn't going to help anything. So I'm going to leave now," Clara began backing towards the door. "And I want you two to sort yourselves out." She turned to leave but stopped and glanced back over her shoulder just before she reached the door.

"Oh, and Doctor?"

The Time Lord looked up at her, surprise still registering on his face.

"You can trust him."

She gave a small smile and left the room.

**Aaaaay hope you liked that one, was gunna add more in but if I did that it would be too long yadda yadda... Next chapter will hopefully be up tomorrow, if not definitely in the next few days :) Hope you liked it! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEWWW to let me know what you think aaay :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**Wow I'm really addicted to writing this fanfic :o I just get the feels for these guys so much omggg so aaanyway enjoy this chapter, it's a special onee;;) I suppose I should do disclaimers and stuff but I'm pretty lazy so I'll only do it once, I DON'T OWN DOCTOR WHO OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS, ALL I OWN IS THE PLOT AND STUFF *sobs bc doesn't own doctor who* Thanks for reviewing and thanks for reading :)**

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Clara was in that room again. She kept finding herself there, she wasn't sure why but it was fast becoming her favourite room in the Tardis. She'd even go as far as to say she preferred it to her own room. There was something about it that made it so cosy and it reminded her of home. She plucked _'A Christmas Carol' _from the bookshelf and curled up in the armchair closest to the fire. She wasn't sure how long the two Time Lord's would be, she just hoped they sorted everything out and reached some sort of agreement. She was getting sick of all the fighting. That was the last thing they needed right now. Those two had been best friends, she wanted them to put aside their differences and at least try to get along, for everyone's sake.

She was still surprised at the fact that she had managed to convince a major criminal to refrain from destroying an entire planet. Why did he care about what she said? She wasn't anything special. _**Anyone else and I'd still do it. **_Those were his words. She'd had some affect on him, made him listen to her. Was she the only one who could get through to the notorious Master? She really hoped everything was going okay in the control room and that they were handling the situation like adults. If one of them ended up dead, it would probably be her fault for leaving them alone.

She sighed to herself and began to read her book, allowing herself to drift away from reality and forget her Time Lord troubles for a while. She briefly wondered what date it was. Surely she'd know if it was Christmas day, right? She made a mental note to check later. She didn't want to miss Christmas. She never missed Christmas. She let herself become drawn into the story, so much so that she jumped with a start when the Master finally walked into the room to join her. She had completely lost track of time.

"Hey, Trouble," She grinned, setting her book down. "So, best friends again?"

"Not quite," The Master gave a wry smile and went to lie down on the couch. "He's infuriating."

"But you two were able to talk about what's happening without killing each other? Sort things out?"

"Well, I don't want to punch him in the face quite as much."

Clara grinned. "That's good enough for me."

The Master lay sprawled out on the couch. He covered his face with his hands and gave a low groan.

"You look exhausted," Clara acknowledged. "You didn't get any sleep last night, did you?"

"None at all."

Feeling brave, Clara rose from her armchair, picking up her book and walked over to the couch.

"Oi, move your head, Spaceboy."

The Master looked at her in bemusement. She raised an eyebrow at him and he lifted his head slightly. Clara slid in to sit on the couch and the Master lowered his head back down again so that it was resting in her lap. He looked up at her somewhat cautiously. He really did look tired, Clara realised.

"I'm sorry," He murmured, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry for losing my temper with you. I just... Can't control it sometimes."

"It's ok," Clara responded, resting one arm on his chest. She could feel his double heart beat, one two three four, like the beat of the never ending drums inside his head."It's just most people talk about it when they're angry, they don't try to destroy a whole planet."

"I'm not most people," He smiled smugly.

She gave an amused sigh. "No, you're really not. Master, you- Actually, can I stop calling you that? It's really degrading, makes me sound like I'm inferior or something."

The Master opened his eyes and looked up at her with a cheeky grin. "You are inferior, Oswald."

"Oi!" She slapped his head playfully. He blinked in surprise and let out a laugh.

"I was joking. You're actually not bad, for a human. Most of you are so stupid and annoying."

"Hey, watch it," Clara chuckled at their banter, willing herself not to blush at the compliment. "I'm not calling you Master anymore." She insisted.

"But that's my name."

"Come on, what kind of a name is that!"

"It's mine. What kind of a name is Clara?"

"A perfectly normal one!" Clara protested. "Just because you're not from Earth."

"No, I'm not," The Master looked up at her intently. "And you're not from Gallifrey. Clara is a normal name on your planet, not mine. And right now we're not on Earth or Gallifrey. So why are you asking me about my name?"

Clara felt stumped. She sighed in surrender. "Alright, alright. But... You surely have another name, don't you?" She spoke softly. "Your real name."

The Master frowned in thought. He seemed to be thinking back to some distant memory but he didn't voice it.

"The Doctor told me once that you choose your titles, like he chose The Doctor." Clara spoke softly. "Didn't you have a name before that?"

"Well," The Master frowned again. "Yeah."

"So what's your real name then?"

"That's not something I just tell people, Clara."

"But you know my name!" She protested. "I'm Clara Oswald, that's all there is to it."

"I know."

"So why won't you tell me yours?" She challenged.

The Master sighed. "Maybe I will.. Sometime. But not now. No one knows my real name."

"No one except the Doctor."

"No one of importance then."

Clara laughed. "Hey, you're supposed to be playing nice."

The Master chuckled wearily. He closed his eyes again, squeezing them shut. "This bloody drumming," He muttered, eyebrows drawing together in frustration. He muttered something else in a foreign language, Clara guessed Gallifreyan. She was fascinated, watching him speak a different tongue. It seemed so natural for him. She moved her hand tentatively from his chest to his face and let it rest there in a comforting gesture. She wanted to help him. His eyes fluttered open at her touch. His own hand reached up to cover hers gently as he held her hand to his face and let out a tired sigh.

"You need sleep," She murmured quietly, enjoying the feel of his hand on hers.

"I don't, I'm fine," He replied, his jaw moving against her hand as he spoke.

Clara sighed. "Still can't sleep with the drumming?"

He nodded slowly. She took her hand away from his face and reached for her book. "Want me to read to you?" The Master gave her a small grateful smile and nodded. Clara smiled. She enjoyed reading to him.

She began to read in a soft voice, hoping to relax the Time Lord. His eyes drooped shut as he listened to the sound of her reading, the words beginning to drown out the drums and lull him into a state of relaxation. Clara soon noticed the steady rise and fall of his chest, the look of peace and contentment on his face. The Master was asleep.

Clara smiled in satisfaction and continued to read the book to herself. It was the middle of the day, she didn't want to sleep yet. She would wait until ngiht. She didn't want her sleeping pattern to become too messed up, she liked some form of normality.

The Time Lord didn't sleep for long, or maybe Clara had just lost track of time. He opened his eyes and blinked up at her in astonishment.

"Did I fall asleep?" He questioned in disbelief. Clara nodded with a grin. The Master jumped up from his lying position and reached out a hand to Clara, pulling her up with him.

"I haven't slept properly in ages," He murmured, letting her hand go gently. "The drumming is always so loud." He trailed off in thought. "If you knew what it felt like... This noise.."

"Maybe I don't know what it feels like, but I can try to understand," Clara murmured softly. "Here." She stepped closer, closing the distance between them and laid her head on his chest softly. She heard the slightly accelerated beating of his hearts. "I can hear your heart beat. One two three four. That's what the drumming is like, isn't it?"

She pulled back after a moment to look at him, leaving one of her hands on his chest gently so she could still feel his heart beat. A look of wonder graced his features.

"All this time," He whispered. "All this time and you're the only person who's ever tried to understand."

He reached out a hand slowly and gently touched her face, running his fingers down her cheek softly. Clara's heart rate accelerated, beating so hard she thought it might break out of her chest. Something in the Master's eyes shifted as he looked at her, some deep emotion swirling in his brown orbs. He leaned in slowly, carefully, closing the remaining distance between them and gently pressed his lips to hers.

He broke the kiss after a few seconds, leaning back to look at her, a question in his eyes. As if he wasn't sure of himself. Clara's breath caught in her throat as she looked into his beautiful brown eyes. She didn't have the voice to answer his unspoken question, so she leaned forward and brought her lips to his this time, gently, hoping to make him understand that this was what she wanted. The Master's free hand snaked around her waist protectively, his other hand still resting gently on her face as he deeped the kiss. His lips moved with hers in perfect sync and for the first time in what felt like forever, Clara felt truly happy, like she truly belonged somewhere. All her troubles drifted away and all that was left, all that mattered was this man in front of her. He pulled back all too soon, leaving Clara breathless.

"In all my life, all my existence," The Master murmured, looking into her eyes. "I've never felt the need to protect anyone, never really cared for anyone." He gave a low chuckle, but there was something dark brewing in his eyes. "And then you, a _human girl_, you came along and.." He trailed off, unsure of what to say. His eyes turned dark, angry. He pulled away from Clara suddenly.

"Why do I feel like this?" He growled, balling his hands up into fists at his sides. He seemed angry at himself, not Clara. "I'm so weak." He spat out the words.

Clara approached him cautiously, feeling the need to calm him down. "It's ok," She shushed, taking hold of one of his closed fists and holding it in her hands, gently opening it and smoothing it out, relieving his tension. He closed his eyes in anguish.

"What's happening to me?"

Clara wrapped her arms around the Time Lord and held him close to her. "It's ok," She repeated as she felt the Master's arms wrap around her again, making her feel safe. "These feelings are new for me too. It scares me." The Master held her tighter. "But I feel safe with you."

The Master stiffened slightly. She felt him exhale, his breath tickling her cheek. "You shouldn't."

Clara wasn't sure when he had started tapping out the four beat rhythm on her waist. She didn't even know if he realised he was doing it.

"That's my problem I suppose," Clara mumbled into his chest. She trusted him, she knew he wouldn't hurt her. She felt the Master sigh in resignation. They stood like that for a while, comfortable in each others embrace, wondering about the unfamiliar emotions they were feeling until the Master broke the silence.

"You asked me earlier," He whispered, pulling back slightly so he could rest his forehead against hers. "You wanted to know what my real name was."

Clara moved her hands to his chest and let them rest there, feeling his twin heart beat and the Master's fingers lightly tapping the rhythm onto her back. She was filled by the drums. She still felt safer than ever before. She looked at the Master expectantly, waiting for him to speak. He uttered one word.

"Koschei."

Clara's eyes widened. She felt a warmth spread through her. He had trusted her enough to tell her his name, something almost no one knew. _Koschei._

"Koschei," Clara repeated in a light whisper. The name rolled off her tongue easily, sounding beautiful to her ears. It was beautiful, just like the man looking down at her now, an expectant expression on his face.

"Koschei," She repeated again, reaching up to cup his face gently. He leaned into her touch. "I love it. It's beautiful."

"Just like you," The Master whispered and leaned down to kiss her again, leaving the kiss short and sweet, pulling back and releasing her from his embrace. He took a step away. Clara could sense that this was hard for him. He thought himself a danger to her, and maybe he was but Clara didn't care. She wouldn't let him run away from her. She stayed where she was, resisting the urge to run into his arms again.

"Thank you," She smiled. She didn't need to say what for, it was enough. Koschei smiled back at her, and Clara felt whole. _Koschei. _She was in awe at the beautiful name.

"Clara!" The Master snapped his head up at the distant shout, moving slightly further away from Clara. He exchanged a glance with her and Clara understood. The Doctor would not approve of Clara spending time with the notorious criminal and though Clara knew in her heart that she was doing the right thing, she didn't want to start another fight. She knew that the Doctor's hearts were in the right place, but she needed him to understand that she wasn't a little girl, she didn't have to be told what to do. She decided she would leave it for now, it was not a good time for an argument. She gave the Master another smile and left the room to see what the Doctor wanted.

She bumped into him as she was on her way to find him.

"Ah, Clara!" He rejoiced, grabbing her shoulders. "There you are! I need to talk to you." He steered her around and into the control room. Clara gave a chuckle.

"What's up then, Doctor?"

The Doctor's expression turned solemn. "Look, Clara this is really irresponsible of me and-"

"Since when have you ever been responsible, Doctor?" Clara joked, trying to lighten the mood, slightly worried about what he had to say.

"Well, you see, the thing is," The Doctor cleared his throat nervously, wringing his hands and shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He looked like a school boy who had just been caught breaking the rules. "Ah, yes, well, I was thinking of sending you home-"

"What!" Clara exclaimed in outrage. "Doctor, you promised-"

"Clara, hear me out, I wasn't finished!" The Doctor held up a hand to silence her. "Things are getting bad. Very bad. The Tardis keeps acting up, and I think it's something to do with the Time Lord's trying to track it. My shields are up but they're weakening. I don't know how the Time Lord's are managing to track us, if it is them, I don't know what will happen if the shields go down and I don't like not knowing things," The Doctor moved his hands to his bowtie in annoyance. "So I thought the right thing to do would be to send you home.."

He held up a hand again to quieten Clara as she opened her mouth to object again.

"But.. Then I realised... I can't."

Clara looked at the Doctor in confusion. "What do you mean.. You can't?"

The Doctor looked guilty. "I.. Can't land anywhere. Something has happened to the Tardis, something's gone wrong. Somehow, I think this is the Time Lord's doing," He grumbled. "They can't get to us, but they can get to my ship. In some ways. I have a feeling they're aware of our whereabouts because of the signal in the Master's head. That they can track it somehow. But I don't know what they're going to do and when they're going to do it." He leaned back against the Tardis console wearily.

"Clara, this is bad, this is really bad," He groaned. "And I can't get you home. I'm sorry."

Clara wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to stay on the Tardis, they're was no way she was leaving the Doctor and the Master but now that she knew she was trapped and they were on the brink of a war with the Time Lords.. She felt anxious. She wasn't sure what she could do to help, what if she just got in the way? Now the two Time Lord's were stuck with her. She was a burden. She approached the Doctor.

"Come here," She smiled, hugging him. "It's ok, I don't mind. Did you really think I was going to leave you anyway?" She smirked. "I knew there was going to be danger when I started travelling with you, I'm still here though aren't I?"

"Not this kind of danger, Clara. This is really serious," The Doctor murmured. "I can't promise you that this will end well. The odds aren't exactly in our favour." He pulled back to look at her. "You're so brave, Clara Oswald."

Clara smiled at him reassuringly. The Doctor sighed.

"Right, I need to find the Master. Discuss what's happening." He turned to Clara. "You need to get some rest. It's late and you'll need your strength."

Clara nodded. She knew the Doctor was right. She felt more tired with each step she took towards her room. By the time she had changed into comfortable pyjama's and dragged herself into bed, she was exhausted. The events of the last few days and her lack of sleep had finally caught up on her. She felt weary from all the worry she had endured, grateful that she could finally get some rest. She closed her eyes, praying that she would have a peaceful, dreamless sleep, knowing that probably wouldn't be the case.

* * *

_**Running. She was running. Running so fast, so fast she had almost forgotten what she was running from. All she knew was that she was alone, so very alone.**_

_**She burst into the room in her blind panic. The Lord President of Galifrey's High Counsel. It was cold and dark, dark than the last time she had been there. She was quaking with the cold and the choking fear she was feeling. She couldn't even remember why she was scared. **_

_**Then she saw him. The Master, in the centre of the room. He was in chains, surrounded by Time lord's. He didn't look scared, his expression was blank.**_

_**Clara cried out to him. She knew he was in danger. All she could hear was one word. Exection. Exection. Execution. Execution. Over and over, like the never ending drums inside the Master's head, the drumming of her fear and panic.**_

_**She tried to run to him but her legs had turned to lead and something was pulling her back. She screamed and screamed but no one could hear her. They were going to kill him. They were going to kill him and there was nothing she could do.**_

_**Everything was turning foggy and she couldn't see. Was she blinded by a hazy mist or was it just her own tears?**_

_**A mechanical buzz, a high pitched robotic voice. It was there in front of her as she looked up. A Dalek. It was going to kill her. It was going to kill the Master. It was looking at her, helpless on the ground, laughing at her. She screamed, all she could do was scream. She felt so scared, so blinded by panic that she couldn't see. Someone was shouting but she couldn't make out what they were saying. It sounded slightly like her name. Why was someone calling her name? She felt so lost and confused, so scared, so...**_

* * *

"Clara? Clara!"

Strong arms were gently but firmly shaking her awake. Clara didn't know where she was, but wherever she was, it was dark and she felt frightened. Where was the Dalek? Was she still on Gallifrey?

"I don't know where I am," She gasped, her voice sounding unfamiliar to her own ears, a low rasp, filled with choking fear. Who was that screaming and crying? It was so annoying.

"Clara, listen to me," Clara recognised that voice. "Clara, your having a nightmare. Wake up."

Clara opened her eyes fully with a gasp, sitting up quickly in panic. The screaming stopped, replaced with gasps and shuddering breaths and she realised that it had been her making all the noise. She suddenly knew where she was and who she was with and she broke down. The Master held her as she sobbed, whispering soothing words into her ear.

"It's ok, Clara, you're safe, it was just a dream, you're safe."

Clara sobbed, unable to speak. She clung to the Master, feeling her fear slowly evaporate as she shook the nightmare off and began to come to her senses. She had been having a bad dream. She began to feel ashamed and embarrassed, although she couldn't bring herself to remover her tight grasp on the Master's shirt. He rubbed her back gently, soothingly.

"It's ok," He murmured again. He gave a low, dark chuckle. "Me comforting you this time. Funny the way things turn out, isn't it?"

Clara still couldn't bring herself to speak. This nightmare had been bad, one of the worst. She began to feel bad, she was surely ruining the Master's shirt with her tears.

"I thought I'd lost you," She managed to choke out.

"I'm right here," Was the quiet reply. "I'm not going anywhere."

Clara's took deep breaths and tried to calm herself down. "Did- Did I wake you?"

"I'm surprised you didn't wake the dead," She felt him chuckle. "You've got a fine set of lungs on you, I'll give you that."

"Sorry," Clara mumbled, giving a choked laugh. She pulled away and sat up in the bed, hugging her knees. "Sorry, it was just.. It was so real." She let a few more tears slide down her face.

"I get nightmares too," The Time Lord sitting on the edge of her bed stated bluntly. He went silent, avoiding her eyes. Clara knew he hated showing any weakness. He didn't ask about her bad dream, he didn't ask if she wanted to talk about it, he just sat there, unable to show his emotions. Clara knew how hard it must be for him. She continued to sit there, crying silently, arms wrapped around her knees until the Time lord spoke again.

"Was it one of the worst?" He asked quietly. Clara nodded.

"Tell me," He murmured, reaching out and taking one of her hands. "I know how it feels."

Clara felt relieved at the fact that he was more open to her. She needed him. She squeezed his hand tightly. She didn't want him to let go.

"It started off a lot like the others," She began. "I was running, running away from something. Then I was in that room on Gallifrey. And you were there," The Master's eyes widened slightly but he stayed silent. "They were going to kill you," Clara tried to contain the sob that was building it's way up in her throat. "I- I thought they did. And I couldn't move, there was nothing I could do. Then the Dalek came and- and.."

She couldn't carry on, her body being wracked by sobs. The thought of losing him was too much to bear.

"Come here," Strong arms wrapped around her again, pulling her close and making her feel safe. "It's alright."

"I thought I'd lost you," She sobbed again. "I was so scared.."

"I know," He murmured. "It was just a dream. Just a dream."

He continued to hold her as her sobs began to subside. Clara realised she was safe, Koschei was safe, everything was alright. She pulled back and wiped away her tears, the panic and fear beginning to leave her sytem. The Master reached out and wiped away her remaining tears, stroking her cheek softly. She was surprised at how caring he was being. She managed to smile at him and his lips turned up slightly at the edges in return.

"Koschei, will you stay?" She whispered.

He nodded, eyes widening slightly in surprise at the use of his real name. "Shove over then, Ozzy." He smirked.

Clara gave a light chuckle and scooted over in the bed to make room for him. He lay down beside her and immediately wrapped his arms around her protectively. Clara snuggled into his chest and gave a contented sigh.

"Thank you," She murmured again, leaning up slightly and pressing a soft kiss to his neck. He offered no words of response, simply placed a gentle kiss to her forehead and held her tighter. Clara felt safe, and she had never felt happier, the bad dream feeling like a distant memory. She could hear the Time lord's heart beat drumming beside where her head rested, and once again she fell asleep to the never ending drum beat.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two lovers, sleeping in each others arms, the Doctor was watching. He had not witnessed the full exchange between the two, but saw them now, seemingly content with each others presence. The Docotor felt confused, hopelessly confused. He had never seen the Master care for someone before. He had never thought the Time Lord was capable of love. He rested his hand on the door handle as he stood there thoughtfully, indecisive. He was torn. He knew that it wasn't a good idea for them to be together, Clara was so innocent and the Master was a ruthless criminal. The Doctor winced. But he had never seen either of the two look so at peace. Clara was happy and the Master was the closest he could be to that emotion. Perhaps he even was happy. The Doctor felt responsible for Clara's safety but he wanted her to be happy. Both Clara and the Master deserved someone.

The Doctor knew that he couldn't trust the Master in many aspects but he felt he could trust him not to hurt Clara.

The Doctor gently closed the door over and turned away. Despite everything he felt himself smile. Maybe Clara Oswald really had done the impossible. She had taught the Master how to love.

**Aaaaay hope you liked that one! Sorry it took me a few days to update, I've been busy :) Thanks for reading, review to let me know what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Dramatic shizz happening in this chapter aay! Hope you enjoy it guys, hope I inspire some of you to write your own fanfic for these two, love them together! Not enough fanfics of them out there, but there's an amaaazing one from my bud Allonsy_Elize, it's called Playing with Fire, you guys should seriously give it a read if you ship this couple and are looking for feels! Enjoy this chapter anyway, review after to let me know if you liked it! **

* * *

Clara woke slowly, leaving her eyes closed. Memories of what had happened last night came back to her as her brain woke up and she became aware of someone's arms around her. No, not just someone. Koschei. She felt herself smile. She was glad he was still here, had stayed with her. She had half expected him to leave before she woke up like the last time. Her head was lying on his chest, the drumming of his hearts almost like a lullaby, calming her and making her want to sleep again.

She didn't want to sleep though. She was content right where she was. She kept her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. She could tell the Master was already awake and if he knew she was too he might move. She didn't want that to happen. He was gently tapping out the rhythm of the drums on her back. Clara wished they could stay like that forever. She felt like once they had to get up, they'd be brought back to the real world again, the world full of danger and unknown threats. She wasn't sure if she was ready for that yet.

"Clara, it's obvious you're awake. Why are you pretending otherwise?"

Clara could hear the smirk in his voice. He had stopped drumming and let his arm fall gently to his side, away from her, leaving her craving his touch again. Clara sighed.

"So you wouldn't do that."

She raised her head to look at him, still sprawled across his chest. He looked puzzled. Clara eyed his arm that he had taken away from her.

"Oh," He murrmured, looking uncertain. Clara leaned over and pressed her lips to his softly.

"Good morning, Koschei," She smiled.

"Good morning, Clara," He smiled back, wrapping his arms around her again. Clara knew he wouldn't stay long, knew he couldn't, not with everything going on. She wished they could forget about that for a while. She lay her head down again and began tracing patterns on his chest gently.

"How long can you stay?" She whispered quietly. She felt the Master sigh.

"Not long," He whispered back. Clara had expected this but she couldn't help feeling disappointed. She knew they had to get up sometime, she just wished it didn't have to be so soon. They were getting up to face danger.

"Did you talk to the Doctor last night?" She asked, continuing to trace the patterns. It soothed her somehow. "About what's going on?"

"All we know is that the Time Lord's have found a way to lock the Tardis coordinates so we can't land anywhere of our own accord," He sighed. "It's my fault. They can only track us because of the link. If I wasn't here, this wouldn't be happening right now. You should have just left me there on Gallifrey."

Clara lifted her head again to look into his eyes defiantly. "Don't say that," She ordered. "None of this is your fault. I don't regret saving you and neither does the Doctor. Not for a second."

"All I do is put you in danger, Clara," The Master muttered harshly. He pushed her off him gently and pulled away, remaining on the bed but not touching her. His eyes were dark and angry as he glared at the ceiling. "Anyone else and I wouldn't care. But you, I can't see you hurt. I don't know, maybe I really am going insane," He chuckled darkly. "But now you can't get home. You're stuck here until the danger passes. _If_ the danger passes. We could all die."

"Hey," Clara reached out to him, concerned at the bluntness of his statement. "Stop thinking like that. Everything will be ok, we're all gunna be fine, no one's going to die!"

The Master wasn't listening to her. His eyes were distant, his thoughts were far away. "Maybe then the drums would stop," He muttered quietly. Clara didn't want him thinking like this.

"Master," She began. He wasn't looking at her. He remained staring at the ceiling, drumming his fingers against the wooden side of the bed in annoyance at himself. "Koschei!"

He snapped out of it, finally looking over to meet her eyes. He sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with me, Clara." He muttered. "I think I really am going mad. Insane, destitute, dying..."

He let out a sudden yell, shooting up from his lying position on the bed and sitting up. Clara sat up with a gasp, startled. The Master let out another shout of pain and swore loudly.

"What's wrong?" Clara yelped. Was it the drumming? She had never seen him in so much agony.

The Master gave a groan and tried to stand up but tumbled to the floor. Clara jumped up quickly to help him. She crouched down beside him, shaking his shoulders to get him to stay concious. He let out another groan.

"What's happening?" She cried. "What do you need?"

"I need," The Master choked, holding his head and shaking it as if to push away the pain. "I need.." He tried to stand up again, moving past Clara and stumbling to the door. "I need the bloody Doctor!"

He staggered out into the hallway. Clara rushed out to his side.

"Doctor!" She called out in desperation. She let out a yelp as the ship began to shake. The Master gave another cry of pain.

"We have.. To get.. To the control room," He groaned, staggering down the hall, holding onto the wall for support. Thankfully the Tardis seeemd to be helping them for once, despite the shaking. Clara felt dizzy. She hated when the ship went out of control like this.

They burst into the control room to see the Doctor rushing around the console, holding on for dear life and trying to keep it under control. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he looked quite comical with a red fez on his head. Things were worse in here, sparks were emmitting form the machine and the ground felt unstable.

"Doctor!" The Master growled, collapsing onto the floor in pain, holding his head. The Doctor gave a surprised cry and rushed over, dropping to the ground beside the Master, fez threatening to fall off.

"Clara, go hold down that lever!" He instructed quickly. "The red one over.. Yes that's the one! Don't let it go!"

Clara raced to the lever and grabbed a hold of it, pulling it down and holding it there. She looked over to the two Time Lord's, trying to keep her balance as the ship lurched.

"Doctor, they-" The Master cried out in pain again. He tried to look up at the Doctor. His pained expression suddenly turned to one of annoyed disbelief. "What the hell are you wearing?" He scoffed.

The Doctor raised a hand to his fez defenisively. "It's a fez!" He exclaimed in annoyance. "You told me I should get a thinking cap," He mumbled. The Master gave him a look.

"Fez's are cool," He muttered but reluctantly removed the fez from his head and placed it carefully beside him on the floor. His expression turned serious as the Master gave another pained shout.

"What is it?" He demanded. "You said they? The Tim Lord's? What are they doing?"

The Master's breathing was ragged. "The Time Lord's are using the signal to bring us-" He was cut off again, holding his head and inhaling sharply.

"What is it? Where are they taking us?" The Doctor took a hold of the Master's face desperately, forcing him to look at him. "What are they doing!"

"I don't _know_, you idiot!" He tried to pull away but didn't have the strength. He gritted his teeth. "I can feel it... It's not.. It's not.." The Time Lord tried to catch his breath.

"Not what?!"

"Shut up I'm talking!" He growled, eyes squeezed shut. "It.. It's not even a bloody place!"

"What?" Fear registered on the Doctor's face. Clara felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. This couldn't be good. The lever she was holding down was beggining to put up a fight. She soon found herself using all her strength to prevent it from springing up.

"Doctor," She gasped. "I can't hold this down much longer!"

"Just two minutes, Clara, two more minutes!" The Doctor yelled up at her. "That lever is holding up our emergency shields!" He turned to the Master, who was writhing in pain, trying not to cry out again.

"Fight it!" He urged him, hands still on either side of his face in determination. "Come on, Master, you've got to fight it!"

"I can't!" The Master hissed defensively. "I can't," He moaned again, voice cracking with pain.

"Doctor!" Clara yelled, feeling the lever begin to slip out of her grasp. Her strength wasn't enough for it anymore.

The Doctor released the Master who sunk to the ground and shot up, racing over to Clara and taking hold of the lever.

"Come on!" He urged his Tardis as Clara sunk to the ground beside Koschei. "Come on please... No, no no!" He yelled indigantly as the machine sparked and he lost his grip on the lever.

The Tardis was really out of control now and the pain in the Master's head seemed to be getting worse. Clara held onto him tightly as the ship plummeted. She ducked her head out of the way as the fez flew past her head in the chaos. The Doctor sank to the floor beside them, holding on to them both.

"Hold on!" He roared in an attempt to be heard above the noise emmitting from the Tardis.

After more harsh lurching and banging, a large crash indicated that they had landed. Clara winced. This crashing business was happening way too often for her liking. The Master gave a low groan. He took his hands away from his head slowly, cautiously and winced.

"Are you ok?" Clara asked in concern. He nodded, flinching slightly at the movement but seemingly relieved that the drumming had returned to normal.

The Doctor was already on his feet, moving about the console and gazing at the scanners in concentration. He blanched. Clara was reminded of the time they had realised they'd found Gallifrey. The way his face had paled in shock that day was not unlike the palour of his face now. A look of fear flitted across his features.

"What?" The Master questioned angrily, his impatience and worry getting the best of him. "What is it, Doctor!"

The Doctor slowly moved back from the console, taking a deep shuddering breath.

"According to the Tardis scanners... We're nowhere. Nowhere, no time.." He trailed off, looking at the Master knowingly.

The Master swore and jumped to his feet, too quickly. He winced and resisted the urge to raise his head to his head again as the drumming increased slightly. Clara watched as his eyes widened in horror.

"You don't mean..?"

Clara felt confused. The two Time Lord's seemed to know what was going on, but she didn't. She approached the Tardis doors and made to open them.

"Clara, wait!" The Master yelled. "It's not safe!"

"Well we can't just stay in here!" Clara retorted, pulling open the door. She gave a small gasp at the sight in front of her. She took a tentative step outside the Tardis, sensing the two Time Lord's approach as they moved to stand beside her cautiously. She looked around. The only word she could use to describe this place was... Well it was a wasteland. Cold, rocky, barren wasteland, with no signs of life as far as she could see. She felt an unpleasant shiver run down her spine. This place scared her, but it gave her a different kind of fear to the fear she'd felt on Skaro. This place reeked of hopelessness.

"Where are we?" She managed to ask in a faint whisper.

"Yes, it's just as I feared," The Doctor muttered. "We're on Gallifrey."

"In the Death Zone." The Master stated, finishing the Doctor's remark.

Gallifrey? That beautiful planet that she had been on not so long ago? No, this couldn't be part of it! This was the complete opposite of Gallifrey. She felt fear course through her at the Master's forboding tone and the phrase he had used. Death Zone. That didn't sound promising.

"What is this place?" She wondered aloud, taking another step wary forward. "Are we the only ones here?" The Doctor opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by a strange clicking noise coming from nearby. He froze. Clara whipped her head around to locate the source of the noise but she couldn't see anything. The ground around them was devoid of life.

She looked to the two Time Lord's questioningly. The Doctor looked as wary about the unfamiliar sound as she felt. The Master on the other hand, had a look of dread on his face, as if a sinking realisation had just dawned on him.

"Uh oh," He murmured in a slight sing song voice, looking up at the sky expectantly. "Busted."

Clara followed his gaze fearfully as the Master shifted his position slightly to stand in front of her protectively. At first she couldn't see anything but then it came into her line of sight. What looked a like a small, metal ball was hovering up above them. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She looked to the Doctor. Cold realisation had seemed to hit him too, although this strange object was unfamiliar to her.

"It's the Master!" The metal ball exclaimed suddenly, drawing closer. "He came, like they said he would!"

Clara turned to the Master in surprise. How did these things know him? He was looking at the metal object, his expression quickly turning to one of dread. More metal balls identical to the first were appearing out of the misty clouds above them, drawing closer, talking amimatedly amoungst themselves.

"Ah, sorry," The Master muttered apologetically to the Doctor and Clara. "I think this could be my fault."

"Master-" The Doctor began, annoyance and fear clouding his features.

"In my defense, I wasn't expecting this either!" The Master hissed, interrupting him.

"You left us!" One of the strange metal object exclaimed suddenly. "We were promised great things, but you left us!" Metal spikes suddenly protruded from the ball.

"Sorry, now's not a great time," The Master forced a grin, putting on a fake, cheery tone. "I'd love to stay and chat but you know, I'd rather have an incurable, life-alerting disease." He flashed a fleeting smile at the creatures which were fast becoming aggitated, spikes appearing out of their metal casing.

The Master turned quickly and pulled open the Tardis doors. "Get inside!" He yelled quickly. "It's not safe!"

Clara did as she was told, rushing inside with the Doctor following her closely. The Master dashed inside hurridly.

"Bye, love you!" He called to the strange objects outside which were now hurtling towards them, spikes out threateningly. He slammed the door shut and backed away, breathing laboured. He winced as the deadly creatures hit the Tardis doors forcefully, spikes protruding through the wood. The Doctor gave an indignant cry.

"Well, that was a close one!" The Master gave a nervous laugh as the Doctor turned to glare at him in annoyance. The Master held up his hands as if in surrender, an apologetic look on his face. Clara glared at him aswell, crossing her arms, waiting for the answers to the many questions that were running through her head.

"Yes, well," The Master scratched the back of his head guiltily. "About that."

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**Hope you liked that one, review to let me know what you think!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's chapter 11! Sorry it took so long to update guys, school and exams and ugh, the amount of study I have to do is sick :/ But I'm baaack :) Hope you like this one, review to let me know what you think! Thanks again for all the reviews, love getting them!**

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"You _what?_" Clara yelled indignantly, not quite believing what she had just heard.

"Yes, he created those metal contraptions that are currently trying to kill us," The Doctor intervened, confirming what had just been said, cutting off the Master before he could retaliate.

"In my defense," The Master began, looking somewhat sheepish. "I had nothing to do with this... Little gathering they have going on outside."

Clara held a hand to her head and squeezed her eyes shut momentarily, trying to process the information. She took a deep breath and looked up at the Master. They were stuck in a Death Zone, they were on the top of an angry mob of flying metal monsters "To Kill List", and the criminal Time Lord standing with his arms folded in front of them had _created_ them? She opened her mouth to speak but words failed her.

"Yes, I know," The Doctor sighed. "He's an idiot."

This earned him an indignant glare from the other renegade Time Lord. Clara sighed and addressed the Master again.

"Well if you created them, you know how to stop them, right?" She tried hopefully, attempting to make light of the situation. "I don't know, just de-programme them or something?"

The Master didn't respond right away. He ran a hand through his hair in aggitation, beginnning to pace around the room.

"No." He snapped.

"No what?"

No, I don't know how to _de-programme them_ or whatever you're suggesting!"

Clara turned to the Doctor for assistance, dread building up in her. She was at a loss for what to do. The Master was becoming more and more annoyed as he continued his vigourous pacing. He slammed his fist down on the Tardis console.

"Bloody thing!" He fumed. "We're stuck here, of course!"

"Oi!" The Doctor yelled indignantly at the violent act towards his beloved machine. He glared at the Master. "Well did you expect anything else? We're in the Death Zone, we can't just fly away! We're here for a reason, we have to leave the Tardis to face that reason!"

"This is your fault," The Master gave his fellow Time Lord a death glare. "I thought the Toclofane were gone, dead! You destroyed them, _Doctor!" _ His eyes filled with rage and he raised a hand to point at the wooden doors of the ship, his temper flaring. "So why in the name of Rassillon are they here outside your door!"

"Let's not forget who caused them to exist in the first place!"

"Oi!" Clara raised her voice just enough to get the two Time Lord's attention. "Now it's all very well arguing about this like two year olds," This earned her an indignant look from both aliens but she carried on anyway. "But like I said before, fighting will get us nowhere. Those toffiefane-"

"Toclofane."

"_Toclofane,_" She gave the Master a look. "Are going to find a way in at some point or another. So we need to find a way out of this mess. _Together." _She stressed, implying emphasis on the last word.

The Master folded his arms and gazed at the floor in thought. The Doctor fiddled with his bowtie as he ran various escape senarios through his head. Clara resisted the urge to pace the room distractedly, knowing that it would only put them all on edge.

"I don't understand how they still exist," The Master frowned, speaking up suddenly. "They should all be dead. They should never have even existed in the first place!"

"Too much energy was used when I erased that year," The Doctor muttered thoughtfully. "All that time, being completely wiped out? That's a lot of force, enough force to rip a hole somewhere in the fabric of time. One too small for me to have noticed."

"But big enough for some of the Toclofane to get through and survive," The Master mused, finishing off the Doctor realisation for him. "The Time Lord's decided the use my own creation against me. What a great sense of humour our race have." He let out a laugh devoid of humour.

Clara wondered what this year was they were talking about. Her mind flitted back to a recent memory. _"The year that never was." _The Master had mentioned that when she had mentioned about him being Prime Minister. Clara made a mental note to quiz the two Time Lords about the subject later, when they had found a way out of this mess.

"Alright," The Master spoke up suddenly, breaking Clara out of her thoughts. He appeared to make a snap decision in his mind and strode across the room to the doors.

"Hey!" Clara rushed over and threw herself between the Time Lord and the door behind which iminant death was waiting. "What are you doing? You can't just walk out there!"

"I have legs, I think you'll find I can."

"No!" Clara grabbed a hold of the Master's arm as he tried to move past her.

"Clara, it's ok, I'll be fine."

Clara didn't believe it for a second.

"You go out there you'll get ripped to shreds," The Doctor spoke up, a calculating look on his face as if he was trying to work out what the Master was up to. Trying to figure out his plan. Clara wasn't one hundred per cent sure that the madman had a plan at all. She wasn't reassured in the slightest. "Just let me think of a plan, I have good plans. Most of the time. Sometimes." The Time Lord scratched the back of his head in thought. "You can't go out there yet, it's my responsibility to get us out of this too!"

"Got any better ideas?" The Master quipped back, throwing a wry smile over his shoulder.

"Not at the moment no," The Doctor pondered. "But if I get my fez-"

"Oh, shut up," The Master grumbled, pushing past Clara and reaching the doors. Clara reached out to him again, trying to make him see sense. She couldn't let him go out there alone.

"At least tell me your plan," She ordered earnestly, wishing for reassurance.

"What plan?" The Master asked with a wink and made to open the door.

"Promise me you'll be ok," Clara pleaded, dread filling her as she hurried to get the words out before he opened the door. Koschei paused in his tracks momentarily as he looked at her, his eyes meeting hers Those eyes held more unspoken worrds that he could ever form the words to say. He didn't speak, simply brought his hands up to cradle her face and brought his lips to hers. Clara's own hands reached up to tangle in his hair as she struggled to put all her feelings, all she had left unspoken, into this kiss. The kiss was filled with desperation, a need, it made Clara fear for what was to come. A small cough sounded from behind them, the Doctor's way of reminding them that he was still there. The Master pulled back slightly, removing himself from her grasp. He looked into her eyes once more then glanced up at the Doctor, gave him a quick mocking salute and opened the door, quickly shooting out and closing it behind him.

Clara rushed forward out of instinct, tears threatening to prick her eyes but strong hands grasped her arm and pulled her back gently but firmly.

"Don't worry, Clara, he'll be ok," The Doctor reassured her.

"How do you know?" She cried, whipping around to look at him as he released his hold on her and rushed away. He was already at the Tardis console, pressing buttons with a look of intense concentration on his face. Clara felt confusion begin to sink in. "Wait.. What are you doing, Chinboy? I thought you couldn't use the Tardis because of being stuck in this Death Zone!"

"I said I couldn't _fly_ the Tardis," The Doctor winked at her. "I'm setting up the scanner so we can see and hear what's going on outsi- Aha!"

He clapped his hands together in a gleeful gesture and straightened his bowtie proudly as Clara raced over to see what he had achieved. She found herself gazing at a screen about the size of her laptop screen at home and to her surprise she saw the Master standing outside the Tardis, surrounded by the Toclofane. The Doctor turned a dial triggering the volume so they could hear what was being said.

"-all alone! What have you to say for yourself, Master!" One Toclofane was speaking in a child-like voice.

"What have _I_ to say for myself? I think the question is what have _you_ to say for _yourselves_. Here I am, I came back for you, to show you the new world, and-" He broke off, giving the nearest lethal looking Toclofane a sarcastic glare. "Are they high precision metal weapons being aimed at me or are you just pleased to see me?"

Clara gripped the console in apprehension. The Master seemed to know how to handle himself, but she didn't trust these metal creatures for a second. She was feeling sick to her stomach with the fear that they might suddenly turn on him.

"It's ok, he has a plan," The Doctor murmured, putting his arm around Clara in an attempt to ease her nevres. "I don't know what it is yet and it's probably insane but, I'm almost ninety six percent sure he has a plan." He paused, pondering to himself. "Maybe ninety two, it's hard to tell with him."

Clara took a deep breath to calm herself, turning her attention back to the predicament occuring outside the safety of the Tardis walls.

"What new world are you talking about, Master?" The Toclofane cried, drawing closer. "Like Utopia? Better?"

"Much better," The Master smirked. He spread his arms wide enthusiastically, his smirk growing to a full blown grin. "I'm talking about the new world of immortality!"

A curious buzz began to hum throughout the mass of Toclofane. The Master, having caught their interest, continued on earnestly.

"Imagine, a world free of death, a world where we could live and rule forever!"

Clara glanced at the Doctor questioningly. He looked just as puzzled as she felt.

"Show us this new world, Master!" The Toclofane cried.

"Doctor," Clara hissed hurriedly. "I don't know what exactly his plan is, but if he goes off with these Toclofane things, what's going to happen to us? We can't stay in here."

"You're right, we can't," The Doctor murmured, his almost-non-existant eyebrows furrowing in thought. "You don't just end up in the Death Zone. We're here for a reason and to step up to meet that reason, we're going to have to leave the Tardis. It's inevitable."

Clara took another deep breath, feeling even more confused than before.

"Of course," The Master smiled, beginning to walk away. "Come on, kids, no time to lose!"

"Wait!" One of the Toclofane darted in front of him, bringing him to a halt. "We recognise that machine. It was your paradox machine!"

Clara gave the Doctor another questioning look.

"There's a reason my Tardis doesn't like the Master," The Doctor grumbled. "I'll explain later."

"Ah, yes, lovely," The Master forced a smile onto his face. "What fantastic memories you have! Come along now."

"No, we want the blue box!" The Toclofane cried. "We want to know what's in it!"

"Oh, you mean my hostages?" The Master asked casually. He back away from the hoard of Toclofane and opened the door of the Tardis. His harsh, cold voice filled the control room menacingly.

"Get out."

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**Sorry if that one was kind of shorter than others, the next one will be longer, promise ;) Review review reviewww :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**HEY HEY HEEEYYYYY I'm baaaack! First of all I'd just like to say I'm so so so sorry I haven't updated in ages, I have so much study to do bc exams in a couple of weeks and my nan died so things have been hard and I just didn't feel like writing, but thank you guys for sticking with the story, especially Lord Kidds, you're amazing! Enjoy!**

Clara stumbled out of the Tardis, grasping at the Doctor's jacket-clad arm for support. She wasn't sure what was going on but she hoped the Master had a proper plan.

"Hurry up, we haven't got all day!"

Clara forced a steely expression onto her face as the Master roughly shoved the Doctor away from the Tardis and out into the midst of the threatening metal aliens. The harsh look on his face almost made Clara fear that he was going to push her too but instead he gently steered her over beside the other renegade Time Lord, making sure not to hurt her. He gave her hand a small squeeze, unnoticable to everyone else present but it meant the world to Clara. It made her feel safe. She smiled lightly, although the Time Lord wasn't lookin at her to see it.

The Master marched on ahead of them. "Right, let's get a move on, we haven't got all bloody day!"

The Master didn't even glance Clara's way, but she peeked a hurried glance at his face, trying not to draw attention to herself in the process. His expression was dangerous and Clara found herself hoping it was just an act. She didn't want anyone getting hurt.

She galnced around, her breath tightening in her throat as she pressed closer to the Doctor out of comfort, the Master leading the way ahead of them.

"It's ok," Her friend murmured in a low murmur. "No worries, Clara, what's that phrase... Hakuna Matata!"

Clara smiled in spite of herself, biting back a alugh. They were in a potentially life threatening position and her raggedy Doctor was still able to make her laugh.

She looked around, worry beginning to fill her again. The Master was leading them towards what looked to be a sort of tower. It was tall and forboding, ending in a spire that almost seemed to touch the dark, grey clouds. Clara had to remind herself that they were in fact, on Gallifrey and not some other desolated planet. The dull grey brick and dirty metal used to make the tower was nothing like the beautiful red and ochars that had been used in the architecture on the Gallifrey she had known. Clara took a deep breath, refusing to be intimidated.

"Where are we going?" She demanded, raising her voice. She raised an eyebrow at a stray Toclofane that was becoming threateningly close to her.

The Master laughed and Clara cringed though she knew his behaviour was just for show, just for these Toclofane creatures. In spite of all that, she couldn't suppress the shudder of fear that ran through her at the forboding, sinister sound.

"The tomb of Rassilon, of course!"

Clara looked at the Doctor questioningly but he simply tweaked his bowtie and stared straight ahead, a look of grim determination of his face.

Clara felt slightly intimidated as they approached the entrance to the tower though she refused to let if show on her face. She didn't want to seem weak in front of these metal death machines.

"What is this?" One Toclofane demanded in it's high pitched, almost childlike tone. "Why are we here?"

"For your reward," The Master smirked, approaching the door, oozing with confidence as he walked.

He strode up to the high, metal doors with exaggerated movements in an almost theatrical manner and raised his hand to rap on the door. Once, twice... Four times, briskly. He stood back as the group of them waited in anticipation and pouted like a sulking child when there was no response. Clara folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at no one in particular. Did he really just expect to be let in?

The hyperactive Time Lord spun around suddenly, a broad grin on his face as if just remembering something. "Oh, that's right! I'm the Master, I don't _need_ to be given permission to enter!"

He grinned and took out a small device from his pocket. Clara strained her eyes to see, disbelief hitting her as she realised what it was.

"Oh, sorry, Doctor," The Master shrugged sympathetically as he waved the sonic screwdriver around in the air. "Didn't think you'd miss it."

"Oi!" The Doctor couldn't help but exclaim. He lowered his voice to a mutter as the Master used the handy device to open the doors to the tower. "How did he get a hold of that?"

"Doctor," Clara began, trying not to let worry intrude on her tone. "He does have a plan, right?"

The Doctor didn't reply. He took Clara by the arm and led her through the door, after the Master and the hoard of Toclofane that accompanied them.

The walked briskly through a series of dark, dank tunnels. Clara began to slow down, holding a hand to her head and frowning. Unable to ignore it anymore, she skidded to a halt.

"Wait!" She called out fearfully. An awful sense of forboding was filling her, entering into her mind and snaking down through her until it clasped around her heart and held it in a vice like grip. She swayed on the spot momentarily as the Master stopped in his tracks, looking around at her with a hint of concern on his face.

"What is it?" He questioned, his tone coming out softer than he'd meant for it to sound.

"It's..." Clara trailed off. What was it exactly? She didn't know, couldn't pin point what exactly was wrong. She just felt fear. "I- I can't go any further! There's something, it feels like something's pushing me back!"

The Master approached cautiously. "It's the mind of Rassilon, pushing you back," He explained. "Just ignore it."

Clara nodded as he turned around and began to walk again. The Doctor retreated to stand beside her again, sqeezing her hand briefly for a moment. For once she wasn't comforted, although she appreciated his gesture. She forced herself to ignore the feeling of dread that was pushing her back and walked on, unable to shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen. Whoever this Rassilon guy was, she didn't like him.

The rounded a corner to find that the Master and his comerades had come to a standstill. As Clara looked around she could see that they were in a large room, brighter than the dark corridors they had just been in. On the floor in front of them was a series of squares, almost like a large chessboard, only without the pieces. Clara frowned at the strange decor.

"Well, go ahead," The Master gestured for the Toclofane to cross the room almost impaitently.

There was a slight pause. "No, the Master will go first!" They demanded. "We don't know if it's safe!"

"I can assure you, it is safe," Clara could tell the Master was fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "Alright then, as you wish."

He strolled towards the middle of the bord at a leisurly pace, stopping halfway and looking back, motioning for the Toclofane to follow.

"Cross all the way to the other side!" One metal contraption screeched.

"Very well," The Master heaved a sigh and looked at the board, considering. Clara's breath caught in her throat as she wondered was the board safe. The Master carefully chose a route and picked his way across the assorted squares. He turned back and grinned. Clara sighed with relief.

The Time Lord hopped back across the bord in a zig zagging pattern, reaching them and spreading his arms wide. "See? Told you it was safe. Go on, go ahead all of you!"

"Master-" The Doctor hissed warningly.

"Sssshhh!" The Master cut him off in annoyance as the Toclofane bunched together in a large group and began to make their way across the board.

Clara looked up at the Master expectantly, wondering what his great plan was.

She let out a gasp of surprise as she turned her attantion back to the board at the sudden sound of crackling electricity. Her eyes widened in horror at the sudden bolts of electricity that shot up from the board, entangling the Toclofane and destroying them simutaneously. The Toclofane let out cries of outrage as they struggled to move away from the board but the thunder bolts were too quick for them.

The Doctor took a step forward. "Was that really neccessary!"

"Amazing, isn't it?" The Master smirked. "You think you're safe, then you reach halfway and the whole board becomes a death trap. What a great sense of humour our ancestors had!"

"It doesn't even matter if you're touching the board or not," The Doctor mused quietly. "It detects movement from above."

"Yes, how very clever."

"You killed them!" Clara choked out in surprise.

"It was them or us," The Master grimaced.

"But-"

"Please hold your questions until the end, there's still more of them following us, we have to go, now," The Master hissed grabbing her hand and leading them towards the deceased metal creatures. "At least this will buy us some time. Follow my steps exatctly."

Clara did as she was told, clinging onto his hand, grateful for the familiar contact. She half expected the bord to explode with crackling electricity once again, but they got past safely, the Doctor close behind them.

Clara felt the Master stiffened suddenly.

"What is it?" She hissed anxiously, holding onto his hand tighter. She became aware of a light electrical hum some but behind them.

The Master swore loudly at the sight of more uningured Toclofane behind them.

"You betrayed us!" One screeched. "Kill them! Kill them all!"

"You idiot," The Doctor huffed.

The Master glarded at the Doctor, opening his mouth as if to retalite but closing it again as he relented. "Yeah," He agreed. "Run!"

**Again I'm so sorry it took so long to update! And sorry if it's a bit shorter than usual. But I hoped you liked that chapter, please review to let me know what you think! Love you Lord Kidds hope you liked this chapter!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Back with another chapter :D Once again I'm so so so so sorry for keeping ye waiting so long! Exams blaaah :/ Hope you guys enjoy this one and thank you so so so so much for sticking with the story! Ye're all amazing! Special thanks to Ms. Estella Black, thank you so much for all the kind reviews! Really didn't think I'd get this amazing reaction to the story!**

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Clara clutched the Master's hand tightly as they ran, trying futilely to ignore the mind of Rassilon forcing her back with every step. Her breath caught in her throat and she let out a frightened shriek as a shard of lethal metal whipped past her, missing her by inches. The Master growled and tightened his grip on her, pulling her closer to him as he dragged her along.

"The door, get the bloody door!" He screeched at the Doctor who rushed to a large lever that Clara would have easily missed had it not been pointed out to her as it was covered by a rusty metal casing. He flipped the switch urgently and a huge sliding paneled door in front of them slid open, allowing them entrance.

"This is all your fault, you imbecile!" The Doctor yelled, brandishing his sonic screwdriver at the door wildly in a bid to make it close more quickly.

"My fault?!" The Master tugged his hand out of Clara's and took an ominous step towards the Doctor. "Who's ship was it that brought us here in the first place, _Doctor?_"

"You're the idiot that invented the Toclofane in the first place!" The Doctor yelled, finally succeeding in closing the door. Clara winced at the clash of metal on metal as the Toclofane came into forceful contact with the sturdy door.

"Well I didn't know they'd come back, Dr. 'The Toclofane Are Gone Let's Call This The Year That Never Was How Flipping Fantastic Am I'." The Master balled his hands into fists, slightly out of breath from his speedy rant. "You always were such a self obsessed, arrogant prat."

"Oh that's rich coming from a psychotic former Prime Minister."

"Stop it, both of you, shut up for a second!" Clara yelled, straining for her voice to be heard amoungst the ranting Time Lords. "One of you explain to me, how is arguing going to get us out of this mess?" She folded her arms across her chest and raised a sarcastic eyebrow. "Go on, tell me how we can get out of this if we're not going to work together?"

"Well we could always throw him out to the Toclofane, maybe they'll be content with ripping just one of us to shreds," The Master fixed his fellow renegade Time Lord with a steely glare.

"Oi!" Clara began, about to defend the Doctor when a huge crash shook the core of the planet, the room beginning to crumble around them.

"What the hell is that?" The Master yelled, automatically rushing to Clara's side and moving her out of harms way as another tremour rocked the ground.

"Oh no," The Doctor murmured, a horrified look crossing his features as he shifted from foot to foot in worry. "It's Rassilon, he's waking up!"

"He's dead you moron!" The Master screamed as the walls began to crack and rocks tumbled from the ceiling.

"Do you not remember the last time we were here?" The Doctor ground his teeth together, glancing over his shoulder worriedly at the sounds of the Toclofane attempting to get in. They had two options, as Clara saw it. One was to die in this crumbling tomb, the other was to go out and face the wrath of the Toclofane, almost certainly dying in that scenario aswell. Things were not looking well for the trio, she realised with sickening dread.

"I remember you being a complete dunce. All four of you."

"Rassilon holds the power of immortality!" The Doctor cried frantically, his bowtie almost falling off in his distress. "He lies in eternal sleep until someone wakes him up, which we just did and not very pleasantly. If he thinks his tomb is in danger, he'll destroy everything and everyone in it!"

"Anyone want to come up with a plan because now would be a good time!" Clara yelled, struggling to keep her balance as the tremors shook the ground.

"Who has woken me?"

Clara flinched at the booming voice, loud enough to shatter the slim shards of rock hanging precariously from the high ceiling.

"Oh, ah, hi Rassilon," The Doctor offered a small wave towards a seemingly motionless form, encased in a stone coffin.

"The Doctor."

The rumbling stopped momentarily and Clara breathed a sigh of relief. The Master stroked soothing circles onto her back, almost unaware that he was doing it as he stared firmly ahead at the speaker.

"The Doctor," The voice repeated with a thoughtful tone. "And the Master."

Clara felt the Master stiffen as the voice turned hard and cold with recognition.

"The Time Lords most infamous child," Rassilon continued with an air of harshness. "I must say I was hoping I would never see you again."

"Oh well you know me," The Master smirked slightly but his eyes remained hard and cold. "Always one to pop in for a visit."

"I see your demeanor has not changed much, even with regeneration," Rassilon adopted a light tone as he continued. "And who is this human you bring?"

"It's none of your business who she is," The Master hissed threateningly, moving to stand in front of Clara protectively. Clara frowned, not understanding the problem. She couldn't even see the face of the speaker, the voice simply appeared to be emitting from the stone tomb.

"Her name is Clara Oswald," The Doctor spoke in a hurried tone, earning a hard glare from the Master. "Look, Rass, we just want to-"

"Have you come to seek immortality?" The deep voice interrupted almost impatiently.

"Rass," The Master snickered as Clara pinched his arm slightly.

"Behave," She mouthed at him with a small smirk.

"Oh no, oh God no," The Doctor backtracked hurriedly in response with a nervous chuckle. "No no, that's not the way for me. Not for any of us."

"Then why do you burden me with your presence?"

"Well, you see, we-"

The Doctor was interrupted by a loud crash as splintered wood and metal flew in all directions. Clara gasped and backed away from the now very much open door, revealing the hoards of remaining Toclofane.

"Traitors!" One cried, advancing rapidly.

"You have brought trouble to my resting place, renegade Time Lords," Rassilon boomed, rage lacing his tone. "You are no longer welcome here. I am to leave you to your own devices."

"But we'll die!" Clara yelled, turning towards the source of the voice in fear. "You have to help us!"

She was met with silence and realised that they were on their own, surrounded by Toclofane in a falling empire. Her breath came in short, sharp gasps as panic over took her at the sight of the ever advancing Toclofane.

"Master," She whispered, reaching for his hand and looking up into his eyes. "What do we do?"

The Master's expression was torn, conflicted as he took in her words, his eyes roaming over her face as if attempting to apply it to memory. He gave her hand a light squeeze and pulled away, taking a step back.

"I know what I have to do," He gave a small, humourless bark of a laugh as he looked to the Doctor. "Get your Tardis and get yourself and Clara out of here."

"What are you... Master no! You can't!" The Doctor yelled, reaching out to grab his old enemies arm as he stalked closer to the hoard of Toclofane. "You know how dangerous that is!"

"What's he doing?" Clara whispered fearfully. "What are you going to do?!"

"Get her out, Doctor!" The Master yelled, pain evident in his eyes. The Doctor hesitated then nodded, backing away and pulling Clara with him.

"No!" She screamed, struggling against his hold as angry tears filled her eyes. "No, I'm not leaving him!"

"Time Lord's most infamous child," The Master began with a light smirk, crackling blue electricity building up between his palms. "I suppose it's time to redeem myself."

Clara gasped in surprise, expecting the Master to use his power on the Toclofane. Instead, he slammed his palms down hard on the edge of the stone block that Rassilon's tomb was laid on, causing an eruption of blue energy to push him back. He stumbled away, his palms now glowing with a mixture of blue and gold sparking light.

"Regenration energy," Clara heard the Doctor murmur as he pulled her away. "He's bringing the Tardis to us but this place is going to blow."

"What?!" Clara shrieked, scraping at the Doctor's arm as he dragged her away from the scene and towards the sound of the Tardis materialising.

The Master shot a beam of blue tinged with gold electricity at the Toclofane, pushing them back with raw power that Clara had never seen the likes of before. Fire was everywhere, chaos and destruction as the Toclofane perished. Clara felt her heels dig into the hard wood of the Tardis entrance and gave a strangled sob as the Doctor pulled her inside, slamming the door shut behind them.

"No!" She screamed, tears flowing freely now as she leapt up and began to hammer her fists on the door, pulling and pushing and even kicking when it wouldn't budge. "Let me out! Doctor, we can't just leave him!"

"We'll come back," The Doctor replied in a blank tone, his voice somehow thick. Clara spun around and blinked, tears cascading down her face and allowing the Doctor to come into clearer focus.

"But it'll be too late! You said the place was going to explode!" Clara cried.

"We'll get him out."

"Why are you saying it like that then?" Clara grit her teeth together and balled her hands up into fists as the Doctor refused to meet her eyes, his face and tone devoid of emotion. "Why do you sound so... Blank?!"

She cringed at her own exclamation for lack of a better word but at this point there was only one thing she cared about and that was the Master. The ship lurched, causing her to stumble and catch onto the console before she lost her balance.

"Landed," The Doctor stated, a sense of urgency creeping into his voice as he ran from the console to the doors, avoiding her question.

Clara followed him hastily, her heart in her throat as she caught sight of the wreckage outside. Thick, black hazy fog obscured her vision and made her cough as she squinted around in the gloom for the Master.

"I've got him!" She heard a shout and leapt out of the way as the Doctor half carried the Master into the Tardis.

"I can walk by myself you-" The Master was cut off as he let out a cry of pain and hunched over, staggering away from the Doctor. Clara rushed to his side, fear and relief flooding her simultaneously, mixed with her shock that he was actually alive and mostly unscathed.

"Don't- Don't touch me," He growled, pushing away from her and letting out a low whine from between gritted teeth as he clutched his torso.

"What- What's wrong?" Clara cried helplessly, reaching a hand out to him but not touching him. "Doctor, help him!"

"I can't."

Clara's heart froze at the solemness in the Doctor's voice.

"What do you mean, you can't?!" She cried, unwillingly allowing the desperation to seep into her voice. She didn't turn to face him. She couldn't take her eyes off the Master. He looked unharmed, his clothes covered with a thin layer of dust that he had mostly brushed off and his hair slightly disheveled as the only signs of him being the main cause of a powerful explosion.

"He's regenerating."

Clara frowned at the Doctor's words. She didn't understand what he meant, but at least he hadn't used the word "dying". The Doctor had briefly mentioned the word to her before, saying it was something a Time Lord did when they were dying, that they changed to safe their own life, but she wasn't sure what exactly that meant.

She crept over to the Master, unable to stay away any longer. He clutched the console with a vice grip, his knuckles going white with the strain. Clara gently put her shaking hand over his as he let out a small whimper.

"Don't try to hold it off," The Doctor murmured, a hint of sorrow in his tone.

"Like last time you mean?" The Master snarled with a wince, snatching his hand away from Clara and clutching his stomach with a groan. His hands began to glow with the same energy she had seen before, this time emitting from himself. Regeneration energy.

"Please, don't die," Clara begged, feeling her knees weakening as she took another shaky step towards him.

"I'm not going to die, Clara," The Master scoffed lightly, though his expression darkened slightly. "I might... Change though."

"Time Lords, when they're dying, they change their face, their body, eveything about them becomes new, different," Clara was vaguely aware of the Doctor's voice giving an explantion somewhere behind her but she couldn't concentrate on that. All she could think about was the man in front of her was in pain. And soon, he would be completely different. He had given this life, this body, to save them.

"He absorbed a colossal amount of energy from the tomb of Rassilon to build up the power to get us out of there safely. But that's intense energy," The Doctor murmured softly with a pained tone. "No one should ever absorb that, not even a Time Lord."

"Even in my dying moments, always a dictionary of wisdom," The Master scoffed with a forced smirk, wincing again and squeezing his eyes shut.

"You're not going to die," The Doctor ordered sternly. "Not this time," The Doctor's voice cracked and he swallowed to regain his composure. "This time you have something to live for."

"I know," The Master whispered, trembling slightly. Clara approached the Time Lord, trying and failing not to let her tears spill over.

"Please," She half whispered for fear of her voice cracking, reaching a hand out to touch his face lightly as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Don't go."

The Master raised a shaking hand to cover hers, trembling with the effort it took to contain the energy and hold off the regeneration.

"I'm so sorry, Clara," He murmured, his eyes filling with tears, a mixture of pain and sadness that broke Clara's heart. "I wish we'd had more time. But I'll always..."

He trailed off, grinding his teeth together and letting out a moan of pain. Clara ran a hand through his hand slowly, forcing a watery smile onto her face, trying to show him that it would be okay, she would still love him, whatever happened. He leaned in and kissed her briefly, breaking away with a pained gasp and staggering back as the pain became too much for him to bear. He let out a cry of pain, his breathing ragged. The knowledge that she couldn't help him was almost too much for Clara to bear, and hurt her in a way nothing or no one had ever hurt her before.

"I'll always..." He began again with a gasp, struggling to finish his sentence. "Love you."

He stumbled away from her, out of her reach, hands and face beginning to glow with an eerily beautiful golden light. Clara's heart ached, realising that this was the first and probably last time she would hear those words from this man's mouth.

"I love you too, Koschei. Always," Clara whispered, just loud enough for him to hear as she felt the Doctor pull her away. She struggled, tears clouding her vision as she let out a choked sob.

"Shhh," The Doctor hushed her, holding her back. "There's nothing we can do now. I'm sorry."

"Clara Oswald," The Master half smiled through the pain, the glow becoming more pronounced.

He threw his head back with a yell, arms outstretched as the golden glow engulfed him completely, the regeneration taking it's course, and taking the man Clara loved with it.

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**Oooooh cliffhanger :D I'm evil, I know ;;) But don't worry, there's a huge plot twist... Aaaand I'm saying no more ;;) Leave a review to let me know what you think :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry about the shocking cliffhanger guys ;) I'm sure a lot of you want to kill me right now, but don't worry, plot twiiist ;;) Enjoy!**

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Clara raised a hand to shield her eyes against the harsh glare emitting from the Master's body as he regenerated. She refused to look away though her eyes, raw from crying and being submitted to the bright glow of regeneration energy, were screaming at her to close tightly shut. She didn't want to take her eyes off him, aware that this was the last time she would see him looking like this and having no idea what was going to happen next. She was terrified, and right now her heart hurt more than her eyes did.

She let out a choked sob at the Master's strangled cry of pain, vaguely aware of the Doctor's strong arms pulling her back as she attempted to reach for him. Her mouth formed the word "no" over and over but no noise was made in spite of her efforts.

The Tardis began to shake, sparks and explosions blasting from the corners of the ship, causing a shiver of fear to run through Clara.

"What's happening?!" She shrieked as bits of the structures lining the Tardis walls broke off with the force of the Master's regeneration. The glowing light coming from his hands and face began to spark blue, bolts of electricity coming into contact with the walls forcefully and causing them to buckle.

"Oh no," The Doctor groaned, trying to pull Clara behind him to protect her. She slapped his hands away, gone past caring about her wellbeing. The Doctor let out a yell and jumped up as the console caught fire. "No, no no no! This is different, this is wrong!"

"What?!" Clara yelled, flinching out of the way as the Tardis crashed and burned around them. The Master screamed in pain and staggered back against the console with a crash. He let out a final yell, staggering with the force of the regeneration and slumping against the console with a moan. The glowing, glowing light faded from the exhausted Time Lord as he gasped for air. He stared at Clara and blinked, trembling slightly.

Looking _exactly_ the same as before.

Clara gaped at the Master's bewildered expression which mirrored her own. He slapped his hands to hit face, hitting himself in the face once, then twice with a confused blink. He felt around his jaw structure, eyes, ears, nose and gave a cough of surprise.

"What the bloody hell just happened?!" He yelled, glaring from Clara to the Doctor with wide eyes. "Why didn't I change?!"

"Oooh," The Doctor began slowly, drawing out the vowel quietly and raising it to a loud crescendo. "Oh! Oh, by _Rassilon_ that is brilliant!"

The Master glared at him as the Doctor began to laugh joyously, suddenly oblivious to the mess his beloved Tardis was in.

"What? What did I miss?" The Master snarled, his temper flaring as he balled his hands into fists. Clara noticed that unlike before, no blue electricity sparked between his palms in response to his anger.

She cut off the Doctor as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Wait, wait, wait," She almost yelled, biting her cheek to keep herself from shouting as she raised her hands to her temples. She was experiencing too many emotions at the moment, relief, love, confusion, _anger._

She looked to the Doctor and pointed at the Master. "He's not going to change?"

Her voice quivered slightly as she trembled, like a volcano about to erupt.

"Oh _God_," The Master groaned. "And I got all sappy and everything. I almost sounded _human_."

"No," The Doctor gave Clara her reply, grinning from ear to ear. "He didn't change and he's not going to because- Oh wow that is _fantastic_!"

Clara didn't wait for an explanation. She stalked up to the Master, still shaking from the shock.

"Well, I'm still me," The Master almost sang in a sing song voice with a boastful smirk. "Thank God, you can't get much better than thi- OI!"

The Master recoiled and blinked at Clara in surprise as she drew her hand back from slapping him across the face. She could hear the Doctor give a hoot of laughter from somewhere behind her.

"And they call me a psychopath," The Master was too shocked that he had been slapped by a human girl to even look angry. "What was that fo- _Stop doing that!"_

"That was for scaring me!" Clara yelled, satisfied with the look of confusion and rage on the Master's face after she slapped him a second time. The Master's eyes filled with realisation and a slightly apologetic hint as if it had finally dawned on him what she meant. Time Lord's could be really dim sometimes, she realised.

Taking his face in her hands more gently this time, she inspected the visage of the speechless Time Lord, flitting her eyes over his face until finally deciding that this was him, this was still most definitely still the man she loved. She reached up as far as she could to capture his lips with her own, kissing him softly. After a moment of initial shock, the Master circled his arms around her waist and kissed her back gently, caressing her lips with his own sweetly. Clara felt relief flood through her at the realisation that he was still hers. She pulled back almost reluctantly and looked into his eyes.

"And that's for coming back," She smiled, stroking his cheek gently, a huge contrast to the slap she had given him earlier.

"I never left," The Master whispered as he pressed a kiss to her forhead gently. "And I never will."

"Well, um, that's all very touching but," The Doctor spoke up from behind them, almost embarrassed as he wrung his hands together sheepishly. "Don't you want to know _why_ he didn't change? Because I'm really quite proud that I figured it out. I bet the Master didn't, I was always more clever."

"Of course I know why I didn't change, it's _my_ face, idiot," The Master rolled his eyes and paused. "But, you can explain it for Clara. Go on."

"You know as much as me, Koschei," Clara grinned teasingly, taking his hand and giving it a small squeeze. She didn't want to let go of him, not now that she had almost lost him.

"Shut up," He mumbled, but squeezed her hand back gently.

"His body was dying!" The Doctor yelled excitedly, practically hopping up and down on the spot in joy at his discovery.

"Yes, well done, Doctor," The Master sighed exasperatedly. "The fact that my body started to regenerate to prevent myself from dying didn't give that away at all. Were you expecting some sort of prize for that astounding conclusion? I thought you claimed to be more clever than me."

"Oi!" Clara scolded him and laughed lightly. "What is it you're trying to say, Doctor? There's a human and unintelligent Time Lord waiting here."

"Yeah, we- I beg your pardon?"

The Doctor ignored the Master's outraged expression at Clara teasing insult and continued to explain.

"Oh, let me get my fez, this is going to be exciting!"

"Doctor, I can't take you seriously as it is let alone wearing a fez!" The Master yelled. "What is it? Why didn't I change?"

"Alright," The Doctor put his hands up as if in surrender, seemingly disappointed. ""Well, when I mentioned that your body was dying, I meant _before._ Remember?"

"Oh no, I forgot that I could electrocute someone with my bare hands," The Master snarled sarcastically. "This body was born out of death, of course it was dy- Oh!"

The Master took a step back, pulling his hand away from Clara's. His eyes widened in shock as realisation dawned on him. He looked up at the Doctor.

"_Oh_!"

"I know right?" The Doctor grinned, stepping over to him. "Brilliant, isn't it? Go on, try!"

The Master frowned in concentration, staring adamantly at his hands. Clara craned her neck to see with a confused frown. Nothing happened.

"See?" The Doctor grinned again. "Told you!"

"What?" Clara bounded over, peering at the Master's hands. "I still don't get it! They're his hands?"

"I know they're my hands."

"Did they change or something?"

"Do they look like they changed?"

"Well, I don't know. They still look like hands to me. Your hands."

"That's because they are my hands."

"I know, but- Oh, what is going on?" Clara sighed exasperatedly. "What are you two spacemen on about?"

"Clara," The Doctor smiled at her, his eyes sparkling with mirth. "Do you remember what the Master told you about how he was able to form electricity, how his body was dying and all that?"

"Yeah, every word," Clara nodded slowly, still not understanding.

"Well, when a Time Lord regenerates, all their dying cells are restored to full health, exchanged with new ones, that's why we have to change our face. The regeneration energy was summoned when the Master absorbed all that Time Vortex energy, his body was about to die, no one can survive that. But his body was already dying, the energy healed his already dying cells," The Doctor nodded at the Master. "After that, there wasn't any need to change his face. That blue electricity, that's all gone. Regular Time Lord you are now, mate."

"Don't call me mate."

"Okay."

"That's," Clara gasped in amazement. "That's brilliant."

"Yes, I think so too," The Doctor grinned. "Never seen that happen before. It's a bit like when I used my hand to keep the same face. I liked that face. Oh, you should've seen it, Clara, I really rocked that face."

"That was the first face I saw you with, with this face," The Master smiled. "Prime Minister of Britain, remember, Old Man? You've never achieved anything as cool as that."

"Oh, shut up."

"What about..." Clara began, almost timidly. "What about the drums? Can you still hear them?"

"I don't think they'll ever leave," The Master stated flatly, answering her question. She still wished there was something she could do to help.

All thoughts were rapidly wiped from her mind as she was thrown across the room due to the Tardis shuddering violently.

"Are we crashing again?" She groaned, sitting up but not bothering to pull herself up to a standing position. She was safer on the ground, less falling that way.

"No, we're flying," The Master yelped in confusion, clinging onto the console and staring at the scanners. "But that shouldn't be possible-"

"Because the power of his regeneration broke my ship!" The Doctor cried, trying and failing to gain control of the Tardis.

The Master growled, yelling what sounded to be a string of profanities in Gallifreyan.

"That bad?" Clara yelled bravely, clutching at a nearby seat to keep her balance during the rocky flight.

"Bad?" The Master scoffed. "It's disastrous. We're going to Gallifrey and I may or may not be due another death sentence."

"You were never un-due your last one!" The Doctor yelled from the console as he attempted to get the broken ship back on track.

"Gallifrey?" Clara's mind went back to when she had first met the Master, the huge, vast room where the Gallifreyan High Council had gathered to discuss his fate. If it hadn't been good news for him then, it wouldn't be now.

"We can't go to Gallifrey!" Clara burst out. "They'll kill him! And they'll probably kill us too for helping him escape the last time!"

"Clara," The Master put his hands on each of her arms and looked at her almost mockingly, as if there was some joke she didn't get. "Does it really look like we have a choice?"

"Well-" Clara began but was cut off as the Tardis suffered another violent blow.

"Is there anything at all you can do, Doctor?" The Master yelled in irritation from his current position on the ground. "Getting executed isn't really on top of my bloody to do list!"

"We're being summoned by the Gallifreyans due to the link in your flipping head!" The Doctor yelled, trying to steer the Tardis away from where they were being pulled. "What d'you want me to do, throw you out of the ship?"

"At least I wouldn't die at the hands of Borusa," The Master snarled.

"If you're lucky, maybe they'll just force you to regenerate!" The Doctor joked, though his voice sounded slightly strained.

"If I'm lucky," The Master scoffed, sarcasm lacing his tone. "Hey, maybe they'll let me pick my next face too!"

"It won't come to that!" Clara yelled, taking hold of the Masters arm and clinging to him for support as the Tardis clattered to the ground, signalling their landing.

Clara winced. "How many regenerations do you have left anyway?"

"Don't know. Three, four, five, one?"

There was silence as Clara felt her heart hammering in her chest. She clung to the Master tightly. She had almost lost him once, she wasn't about to lose him again.

"Well," The Master made the first move, walking up to the wooden doors, Clara close behind him. "This should be fun!"

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**Haha, I hope you guys don't hate me so much now ;) Pffft, you didn't really think I'd get rid of John Simm, did you? Guys, he's my bae! **

**Hope you liked that chapter anyway, sorry if it was a bit short but it wouldn't make sense otherwise, sometimes you just have to end a chapter where it needs to end, ya know?**

**If you want, leave a review to let me know what you thought! It'd make my day :)**


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